Cedar Rapids doctor to pay $100K settlement in opioids case

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors for Iowa say a Cedar Rapids doctor has agreed to pay a $100,000 settlement over allegations that he prescribed opioids to patients who had no legitimate medical need for the drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says an investigation by the Iowa’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration found that Dr. Paul Lottes had violated the Controlled Substances Act. Prosecutors say that from August 2017 to April 2019, Lottes wrote prescriptions for the powerful painkillers to two patients in violation of the act.