Poplar Healthcare will pay approximately $900,000 to resolve allegations of inaccurately promoted & performed stain test

According to the announcement of Department of Justice (DOJ), Memphis's Poplar Healthcare and Poplar Healthcare Management have settled with the U.S. and will pay $897,640 to resolve blames that Poplar and their subsidiary GI Pathology promoted and billed government payers for medically unimportant diagnostic tests.

In accordance with DOJ, an inquiry by the HHS-OIG and the U.S. Attorney's Office disclosed that the tests, termed as immunohistochemical mast cell tryptase stains, were promoted heavily in a multi-year campaign targeted at pushing their use. The campaign claimed that the test could "definitively diagnose" a condition referred as mast cell enterocolitis.
The DOJ said, "The Government alleged that Poplar's promotion of the test wasn’t consistent with the requirements of FDA approval, and not supported by precise scientific evidence.”
The investigation initiated when a pathologist previously employed by Poplar named Gordon Wang, submitted a complaint against the company on behalf of the United States. According to DOJ, $205,841 will be received by Wang as his share of the settlement, which is permitted under the False Claims Act when a private citizen reveals fraud against the government and files suit on their behalf.