Tri-Area Community Health Agrees to Pay $513,000 to Resolve Medicare Billing Allegations

ROANOKE, Va. - Tri-Area Community Health, (TACH) located in Laurel Pike, Virginia, has agreed to pay $513,729.90 to the United States to resolve allegations it improperly billed Medicare for Annual Wellness Visits. TACH previously repaid $321,075.56 toward the total settlement amount.

Tri-Area Community Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center that operates six independent clinic locations within the Western District of Virginia. TACH provides Annual Wellness Visits to Medicare beneficiaries that are ultimately billed to Medicare.

From August 2022 through December 2025, TACH provided Annual Wellness Visits to Medicare beneficiaries that were provided by pharmacists without physician oversight, without a physician being present physically or virtually, and/or otherwise without appropriate physician supervision, that were ultimately billed under the names of physicians who were not involved with the visits. TACH cooperated with the government's investigation, initiated its own internal review, and assisted with identifying the improperly reimbursed claims.

The resolution was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Counsel to the Inspector General.

First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Howells investigated the matter with assistance from HHS-OIG.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.