Update: Eastern WA urgent care clinic to pay $2.8M over billing fraud claims
An urgent care clinic with medical offices in Richland and Pasco has reached an agreement with the federal government to pay $2.8 million to resolve claims of fraud in its billing of Medicare and Medicaid.
Health First Urgent Care is accused of overbilling for respiratory and urinary tract infection diagnostic tests that are typically ordered as part of a panel of tests.
The settlement agreement includes $2.2 million to Medicaid, including $1.3 million in restitution, and $649 million to Medicare, including $324,800 in restitution. Interest also will be owed as payments are made over time.
Health First Urgent Care does not admit liability in the settlement.
In the alleged fraud from spring 2022 to spring 2025, the company would test a single sample from a patient for multiple pathogens, and then “unbundle” the test panel to bill individually for each pathogen that it was testing for, according to the Eastern Washington District U.S. Attorney’s Office. That raised the amount that was billed.
The state of Washington also alleged that the company billed for tests that were more expensive and not medically necessary for individual patients, such as those with symptoms of COVID-19.
The company has a clinic at 27 Columbia Point Drive in Richland at at 4605 N. Road 68 in Pasco. It also has applied for a building permit for a Health First Urgent Care building at 115 S. Ely St. in Kennewick.
“Ensuring that healthcare providers comply with the requirements of Medicare and Medicaid not only maintains the integrity of these programs, but it also safeguards patients and results in better healthcare outcomes,” said Pete Serrano, formerly Pasco’s mayor and now the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern Washington District.
The settlement agreement details were not immediately available Wednesday.
It was the result of a joint investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Washington state Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
“Medicare and Medicaid exist to make sure families’ critical medical needs are met. It is vital that we protect the integrity of these programs,” said Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown. “This settlement will help ensure these funds are put to use as intended for Washingtonians.”
The case was investigated for the federal government by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Brooks and for the state of Washington by Assistant Attorney General Rachel Sterett.
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM.