Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced that Aqua Vision Care, LLC agreed to pay $143,336 to resolve allegations of submitting false Medicaid claims for vision services not provided. The settlement includes $71,668 in restitution for unprovided services and a $71,668 civil penalty.
Per the news release distributed on Monday, March 17: “Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that Aqua Vision Care, LLC agreed to pay $143,336.00 to resolve allegations that it violated the Maryland False Health Claims Act by submitting or causing claims to be submitted to the Medicaid Program for vision services that were not provided. Kelechi Mezu Nnabue, a licensed optometrist who provided vision services at Aqua Vision, certified that the services billed to the Medicaid program were furnished, medically indicated, and necessary for the health of the patients.
The State’s allegations relate to claims submitted by Aqua Vision for eye exams. Aqua Vision, located in the 1000 block of Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, billed Medicaid monthly, and sometimes several times a month, for an eye exam for the same recipients. Medicaid covers a maximum of one optometric examination per year for recipients younger than 21 years and one optometric exam every two years for recipients 21 years and older, unless time limitations are waived by the Program, based on medical necessity.
The amount paid in restitution represents $71,668.00 for vision care services that were not provided, as well as a civil penalty of $71,668.00. Attorney General Brown thanked the Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit, particularly Assistant Attorney General Catherine Schuster Pascale, Senior Investigators Gordon Carew and Shannon Beatty, and Senior Fraud Analyst Todd Sheffer for their work on this matter.
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $6,845,828 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,281,939 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of Maryland.”