El Paso Ear, Nose & Throat Associates (EPENT) has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicaid, Medicare and other federal healthcare programs by upcoding evaluation and management codes. The government alleged that EPENT knowingly caused false claims to be submitted to federal healthcare programs by billing for services at a higher rate of reimbursement than they would be entitled to for the service actually provided. This scheme is commonly referred to as "upcoding." "Providers who line their pockets by over-billing for medical care increase medical costs for all of us and drain critical funds from Medicare and other government health programs," said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. "We will continue to hold accountable medical professionals who undermine our healthcare system by over-billing for care."