Wharton Post

BAY CITY — A Bay City physician is facing a federal False Claims Act lawsuit accusing him of billing Medicare nearly $500,000 for surgical procedures the federal government alleges were never performed.

Dr. Michael Neret, who owns and manages Neret MD Medical Clinic, practices in Bay City and Lake Jackson, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas⁠.

The federal government filed its lawsuit against Neret on Sept. 4 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Federal court records⁠ list the case as United States of America v. Neret, case number 4:26-cv-07450.

According to the federal complaint announced by prosecutors⁠, Neret billed Medicare for surgical neurostimulator electrode implantation procedures, which officials said are complex procedures typically performed in an operating room and reimbursed by Medicare at thousands of dollars each.

Federal prosecutors allege Neret did not perform the procedures for which Medicare was billed.

Instead, the government alleges nonphysician practitioners and nonclinical staff used relatively inexpensive electro-acupuncture devices during brief office visits. Small electrode wires were allegedly inserted into patients’ skin, with the devices secured behind their ears using adhesive.

The lawsuit also alleges Neret encouraged staff to use the devices without explaining their potential benefits to patients. Prosecutors allege he knew the devices were not billable under the surgical procedure codes submitted to Medicare and used the procedures to support prescribing narcotics for pain management.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General assisted in the investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office⁠. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura E. Collins and Michelle Luong are handling the case.

The lawsuit was filed under the federal False Claims Act, which allows the government to pursue civil claims involving allegedly fraudulent requests for federal funds.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and there has been no determination of liability.