Pain Management Associates, a clinic with locations throughout South Carolina in Anderson, Columbia, Easley, Florence, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg, and Sumter (as well as two North Carolina offices in Arden and Waynesville), is being sued by former employees and the federal government. The legal action is based on claims that the treatment centers over-prescribed opioids to patients and engaged in financially fraudulent activity.
The unnecessary opioid prescriptions were tied to a greater financial scheme that benefitted the clinic’s parent company Oaktree Medical Centre, connected businesses, and owner Daniel McCollum. McCollum owns LabSource, a testing lab, and Exigo, a pharmacy. Both LabSource and Exigo are connected to Pain Management Associates, and provided tests and prescriptions to the clinic. Patients who were prescribed excessive amounts of opioids were told to have their urine tested regularly (a common practice to monitor opioid use), simultaneously benefiting LabSource and Exigo.
Doctors employed by Pain Management Associates also received payments for illegally referring patients to businesses that are financially associated with the treatment center. The clinic was engaged in unfair billing practices as well, such as charging patients for 20-minute evaluations, even if their appointment only lasted a few minutes.
Many of the patients who were affected by the fraudulent practices at Pain Management Associates received Medicare and Medicaid benefits — because of this, the expenses the clinic paid to engage in filing deceptive prescriptions and service bills were reimbursed by the federal government.
Pain Management Associates and its affiliates, including Daniel McCollum, are currently under investigation in connection with the federal fraud case and civil whistleblower suits. The clinics’ Easley, Greenville, and Spartanburg locations were raided in October 2018, when the FBI took computers, lab records, billing information, and other documents.
At Christian & Christian, our lawyers represent victims of medical malpractice and dangerous drugs throughout the state of South Carolina. Contact us online or call (864) 408-8883 to schedule a free initial consultation.
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