Penalty Amount
$1,729,977
Connecticut Attorney General announced a $1.73 million settlement with Enzo Clinical Labs for overbilling the state Medicaid program. The lab billed Medicaid full prices while offering discounted rates to other payers, violating the state False Claims Act. The settlement resolves both an audit repayment and claims from a whistleblower investigation.
Enzo Clinical Labs must pay $1,729,977 to Connecticut to resolve allegations of Medicaid overbilling. The payment covers both the audit repayment of $981,951 and additional claims from a whistleblower investigation, with $238,369 going to the relator.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements where the entity provides services to government healthcare programs, particularly vendor contracts with state Medicaid agencies and customer agreements with private insurers. Key clauses to examine include pricing schedules (to verify consistent rate definitions), discount terms (to ensure no discriminatory pricing between Medicaid and other payers), billing and claims submission certifications (for compliance with program rules), audit rights and cooperation provisions (given the whistleblower-triggered investigation), representations and warranties regarding adherence to False Claims Acts, and indemnification or penalty allocation clauses. Potential changes may involve adding explicit rate parity requirements across all payer types, strengthening compliance certifications with specific Medicaid regulations, enhancing audit response procedures, and incorporating clearer termination rights for billing violations.
Entity
Enzo Biochem, Inc. and Enzo Clinical Labs, Inc.
Also known as: Enzo Biochem
Industry
Healthcare$2.0M
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of four other states and the FTC sued Zillow and Redfin after Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its multifamily rental advertising business and transfer clients to Zillow. The settlement requires the companies to restore competition, with Redfin rebuilding its apartment advertising business, and pay $2 million to the coalition.
Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to the Connecticut Insurance Department urging rejection of double-digit rate increases sought by Anthem, ConnectiCare, and UnitedHealthcare for individual and small group health insurance plans covering about 220,000 people. The letter argues the rates exceed inflationary measures and criticizes the carriers for failing to control costs and for poor claims system management, particularly ConnectiCare's transition to Molina Healthcare.
$275K
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $275,000 settlement with TaxAct, an online tax preparation company, over allegations that between January 2018 and December 2022, TaxAct improperly disclosed detailed customer financial information to Meta and Google through third-party tracking technologies without notifying taxpayers. The settlement requires TaxAct to pay $275,000 and implement new third-party tracking compliance measures, including a review committee, written policies, a tag monitoring system, and two independent third-party audits.
$4.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the Federal Trade Commission announced a $4 million settlement with Manchester City Nissan (Chase Nissan LLC) resolving allegations that the dealership double-charged for 'certified pre-owned' vehicles and collected unauthorized junk fees. The settlement requires payment for consumer redress, prohibits misrepresentations, mandates clear disclosure of the maximum total price, and requires express informed consent for all charges.
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and DHS to block demands for the personal information of 17 million CDL drivers. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to prevent the data transfer.
Attorney General William Tong and a coalition of 10 attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a new OCC rule that preempts state laws requiring national banks to pay interest on homeowners' mortgage escrow accounts. The lawsuit argues the OCC ignored federal court decisions and bypassed safeguards, and seeks to block the rule.