Charles Ortolano v. Amin Radiology

Filing

Opinion issued by court as to Appellant Charles Ortolano. Decision: Affirmed. Opinion type: Non-Published. Opinion method: Per Curiam. The opinion is also available through the Court's Opinions page at this link http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions.

Case: 15-10838

Date Filed: 05/03/2016

Page: 1 of 3

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 15-10838
________________________
D.C. 5:10-cv-00583-WTH-TBS
USA, ex rel., STATE OF FLORIDA, ex rel.,
Plaintiffs,
CHARLES ORTOLANO,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
AMIN RADIOLOGY, d.b.a. Citrus
Diagnostic Center, d.b.a. Dunnellon Open MRI,
Defendant-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
________________________
(May 3, 2016)
Before WILLIAM PRYOR, ANDERSON and PARKER,* Circuit Judges.

__________
*Honorable Barrington D. Parker, Jr., United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit, sitting
by designation.

Case: 15-10838

Date Filed: 05/03/2016

Page: 2 of 3

PER CURIAM:
After oral argument, and careful review of the briefs and record, we
conclude that the judgment of the district court should be affirmed. The particular
arguments of plaintiff-appellant on appeal are not persuasive for the reasons fully
explored at oral argument.
We agree with the district court that the only claim that appellant has
preserved for appeal relates to the defendant’s use of general radiographers for a
partial role in the procedure, rather than using licensed nuclear medicine
technologists for every aspect of the procedure. Appellant has expressly
disavowed any reliance on an implied certification theory; thus, any claim based on
that theory is deemed abandoned.
We also reject appellant’s arguments based upon the factually false theory.
The claims that defendant submitted to the government agencies for payment were
simply not factually false, because there was no representation, either express or
implied, that the services had been performed exclusively by licensed nuclear
medicine technologists. Moreover, even if Florida requires every aspect of the
procedure to be handled by licensed nuclear medicine technologists (which we
assume arguendo, but expressly do not decide), such requirement is not a
prerequisite for “reasonable and necessary” status, and thus not a prerequisite for

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Case: 15-10838

Date Filed: 05/03/2016

Page: 3 of 3

reimbursability. 1 Accordingly, the submission of defendant’s claims made no
representation with respect to licensure, and the claims were not false.
The judgment of the district court is
AFFIRMED.

1

Although 42 C.F.R. §410.32(b) does make “the appropriate level of supervision by a
physician” a prerequisite for reasonable and necessary status, we agree with the district court
that, especially in light of 42 C.F.R. §410.33, §410.32 does not require licensure. Similarly,
although the Medicare Program Integrity Manual may impose as a prerequisite that the service
be provided by “qualified personnel,” especially in light of the strong indication from 42 C.F.R.
§§410.32 and 410.33 that no license is required, we decline appellant’s invitation to import
Florida’s licensing provisions into the definition of “qualified.”

3