The CityMD lawsuit landscape covers several distinct actions: a $12 million federal settlement over false COVID-19 claims, a nearly $7 million refund agreement with the New York Attorney General for improperly billing patients for COVID-19 tests, a resolved class action over the same billing conduct, an older $6.6 million Medicare fraud settlement, and an active data privacy class action. If you were a CityMD patient billed for a COVID-19 test between March 2020 and November 2022, you may be owed a refund.
If You Were Billed for a COVID-19 Test at CityMD
CityMD has acknowledged on its own website that patients are “not responsible to CityMD for any portion of the claim” for COVID-19 testing visits conducted between March 2020 and November 2022. The company agreed to recall those bills and issue refunds automatically as part of its settlement with the New York Attorney General.
If you paid a bill and have not received a refund, or if you received a bill you believe was improper, you can contact the New York Attorney General’s Health Care Bureau at 1-800-428-9071 or file a complaint through the office’s online portal. Under the settlement, CityMD is required to recall any noncompliant bill it discovers and issue the refund within 60 days.
The $6.9 Million New York Attorney General Refund Agreement
On February 11, 2025, Attorney General Letitia James announced that CityMD had agreed to return $6,910,986 to 215,819 patients, cancel $7,026,668 in outstanding bills for another 87,334 patients, and pay $95,000 in penalties to the state.
The investigation began in October 2022 after consumer complaints. Between March 2020 and November 2022, CityMD billed patients for copays and deductibles on COVID-19 testing even though state and federal laws prohibited that cost-sharing during the public health emergency. Some bills arrived up to two years after the visit. The Attorney General’s office also found that CityMD failed to post a clear cash price for testing on its website as required by the CARES Act, and that staff had told patients they would owe nothing before charges appeared. When patients disputed the bills, CityMD was largely unresponsive and in some cases threatened to send accounts to debt collectors.
Under the Assurance of Discontinuance, CityMD had to notify affected patients by mail and email, post cash prices for COVID-19 testing on its website within 30 days, and stop referring any COVID-era testing accounts to collections. The compliance obligations run for five years, with a $5,000 penalty per future violation.
The $12 Million Federal False Claims Act Settlement
On June 7, 2024, the Department of Justice announced that CityMD and affiliated entities — City Medical of the Upper East Side, PLLC; Summit Medical Group, P.A.; Summit Health Management, LLC; and Village Practice Management Company, LLC — agreed to pay $12,037,109 to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by billing a federal program for uninsured COVID-19 patients on behalf of people who actually had insurance.1U.S. Department of Justice. CityMD Agrees to Pay Over $12 Million for Alleged False Claims to COVID-19 Uninsured Program
The program at issue was the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Uninsured Program, which reimbursed providers for testing, treating, and vaccinating uninsured patients.2HRSA. COVID-19 Uninsured Program Claim The government alleged CityMD knowingly submitted or caused false claims to the program from February 4, 2020, through April 5, 2022, failed to verify insurance status even when cards were on file, and sent requisition forms to outside laboratories that labeled insured patients as uninsured, causing those labs to submit false claims too.1U.S. Department of Justice. CityMD Agrees to Pay Over $12 Million for Alleged False Claims to COVID-19 Uninsured Program
The case started with a qui tam whistleblower complaint filed under seal on December 16, 2020, by Stephen Kitzinger, a CityMD patient. Kitzinger said that after a July 2020 visit at a Union, New Jersey clinic, a CityMD employee told him the clinic would delete his insurance information; he later found he was listed as “uninsured” in the patient portal.3Phillips & Cohen LLP. Kitzinger Qui Tam Complaint Kitzinger received $2,046,308 as his whistleblower share.1U.S. Department of Justice. CityMD Agrees to Pay Over $12 Million for Alleged False Claims to COVID-19 Uninsured Program
CityMD did not admit liability, saying it settled to “avoid the cost and burden of prolonged litigation.” The DOJ credited the company for voluntary disclosure and cooperation. CityMD had already repaid roughly $7 million to HRSA in early 2022 after finding improper payments on its own, so about $5 million of the $12 million total was new money.4Healthcare Dive. CityMD COVID Settlement DOJ False Claims This money went to the federal government, not to patients.
The Martinez Reyes Class Action
A private class action in the Southern District of New York, filed in November 2022 by Ana Martinez Reyes against Summit Health Management, LLC, alleged that CityMD coded COVID-19 tests as general “Office Visits” when submitting claims to insurers.5ClassAction.org. CityMD Wrongfully Charges Patients for COVID-19 Tests, Class Action Alleges Because insurers processed them as routine visits, they applied standard copays and deductibles, and CityMD then billed patients directly, in some cases $300 per visit. Martinez Reyes said she was billed $550.13 for five tests taken in 2020 and 2021.6ClassAction.org. Martinez Reyes v. Summit Health Management LLC Complaint
The case ended with a class settlement that Judge Vernon S. Broderick granted final approval on May 9, 2024, and the case was dismissed with prejudice. Class counsel received $600,000 in fees plus $7,546.07 in expenses, and Martinez Reyes received a $9,000 service award.7PACER Monitor. Martinez Reyes v. Summit Health Management, LLC The claims window for this settlement is closed; patients seeking refunds today should work through the Attorney General’s process described above.
The 2018 Medicare Fraud Settlement
CityMD’s False Claims Act history predates the pandemic. On May 3, 2018, the company agreed to pay $6,606,251.40 to settle a civil fraud lawsuit in the Southern District of New York alleging false Medicare claims.8U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $6.6 Million Settlement Against CityMD for Submitting False Claims
CityMD admitted two things. It had upcoded Medicare claims, billing for services more complex than what was actually provided or documented, and it had billed Medicare for services performed by physicians not credentialed with the program by using the National Provider Identification numbers of other doctors who had not treated those patients.8U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $6.6 Million Settlement Against CityMD for Submitting False Claims Unlike the later COVID-19 settlement, CityMD accepted responsibility, and said it had hired a full-time chief compliance officer and strengthened its compliance program in the year before the settlement.9HealthLeaders Media. CityMD Pays $6.6M False Claims Settlement
The Pending Data Privacy Class Action
One CityMD case remains open. Two lawsuits alleging that CityMD installed tracking code on its website that collected and shared sensitive patient information with Meta Platforms, Google, Microsoft, Magnite, and PubMatic without patient consent were consolidated in late 2024 as In re CityMD Data Privacy Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.10CourtListener. In re CityMD Data Privacy Litigation A consolidated complaint was filed in January 2025 and interim co-lead class counsel were appointed.11Almeida Law Group. ALG Founder David Almeida Appointed Co-Lead Interim Counsel in CityMD Class Action Lawsuit As of mid-2026, the case is in the pre-trial phase, with no settlement or ruling on the merits. No claims process exists yet; former patients who used the CityMD website during the tracking period would learn about any eligibility through class notice if the case moves to settlement or certification.