STLtoday - News - St. Louis City / County

Nursing home figure enters not guilty plea in fraud case
By Peter Shinkle
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/22/2005

Robert D. Wachter, the former operator of a chain of nursing homes in the St. Louis area, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he conspired to defraud the government by providing substandard care at his facilities.

NASHVILLE – A Franklin County medical doctor has been charged with TennCare fraud. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) today arrested Dr. Floyd Brown, 54, an osteopathic specialist, of Estill Springs. He is charged with two counts of TennCare fraud for making false statements and concealing income information from TennCare. Read Press Release

State Medicaid Probe Obtains $7 Million Repayment

STATE MEDICAID PROBE OBTAINS $7 MILLION REPAYMENT

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced that Americare Certified Special Services, Inc. (Americare), a Brooklyn based certified home health agency, has agreed to pay $7 million as part of a resolution of an investigation whether it had improperly billed Medicaid for services rendered to residents in adult homes. Home Health Agencies such as Americare provide health care to persons living in their own homes, and also in “adult homes” which are residential facilities that do not provide skilled nursing care.

Nursing home fraud alleged in indictments (Jefferson City News Tribune) - ST. LOUIS (AP) - A federal grand jury returned indictments Thursday on charges that several nursing home operators conspired to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by collecting payments for services they did not provide to their residents.

Press Release from: McGregor W. Scott, United States Attorney, Eastern District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Patty Pontello, 916-554-2706
November 15, 2005

DOCTORS ACCUSED OF PERFORMING UNNECESSARY HEART SURGERIES AT REDDING MEDICAL CENTER AGREE TO PAY MILLIONS TO SETTLE FRAUD ALLEGATIONS AND ACCEPT RESTRICTIONS ON THEIR MEDICAL PRACTICE

• The Agreement Preserves the Right to Revoke the Doctors’ Licenses and Exclude Them From the Medicare Program.

Press Release: US Dept of Justice, US Attorney, Southern District of Texas, Chuck Rosenberg

November 17, 2005

John Yembrick
Public Affairs Specialist
P. O. Box 61129 Houston, TX 77208
Phone: 713/567-9388 Fax: 713/718-3389
CONTACT US

GRAND JURY INDICTS TWO FOR FAKE FLU VACCINE

(HOUSTON, TX) – United States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg today announced the unsealing of a 14-count federal indictment charging Iyad Abu El Hawa, 35, of Houston, and Martha Denise Gonzales, 48, of Baytown, with conspiracy and tampering with a consumer product. These charges stem from an investigation into a scheme to administer fake flu vaccines at several Houston-area locations. The investigation began in October 2005 after the FBI received information that fake flu vaccines may have been given at a health fair sponsored by ExxonMobil for its Baytown refinery employees.

Press Release: US Dept of Justice, US Attorney, Southern District of Texas, Chuck Rosenberg

November 17, 2005

John Yembrick
Public Affairs Specialist
P. O. Box 61129 Houston, TX 77208
Phone: 713/567-9388 Fax: 713/718-3389

(HOUSTON, TX) United States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg today announced the verdicts of a federal jury convicting Dr. Anant Mauskar, 72, of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and receiving kickbacks as a result of a scheme that cost Medicare and Medicaid health care benefit programs millions of dollars in losses due to fraudulent claims. Charged with a total of 24 counts of health care fraud in connection with Medicare and Medicaid claims for physical therapy services and durable medical equipment, Mauskar was convicted of 20 of those counts and acquitted of four.

According to the article by Judith R. Tackett, TennCare is increasing their focus on beneficiary fraud through their new Office of Inspector General:

“Faulkner, who was appointed by Gov. Phil Bredesen in July 2004 to establish the state’s Office of Inspector General, said Tennessee is ahead of the game when it comes to fighting TennCare fraud. Her office targets TennCare recipients committing fraud while the TBI concentrates on provider fraud.

I’ve written a lot about growth hormone fraud, but this article is not about fraud. It is about waste. It is legal to use growth hormones to treat shortness in children, but that doesn’t mean that insurance and Medicaid should pay for it. One month ago, the New York Times Magazine covered this subject in an article by Stephen S. Hall. The long and short of it is while growth hormones can add an inch and a half to a child’s final height, it is not clear that this is of any value. There are far better uses for the $20,000 or more per year (treatment is typically 4-5 years) per child spent on growth hormones.

U.S. Newswire : Releases : “Kansas Couple Convicted on Involuntary Servitude Charges…”

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ — The Justice Department announced today that Arlan Kaufman, 69, and his wife, Linda Kaufman, 62, were convicted on federal charges for forcing mentally ill patients to perform sexually explicit acts on videotape and to perform physical labor in the nude. The jury found Arlan Kaufman guilty on 31 federal counts and Linda Kaufman guilty on 30 federal counts, including involuntary servitude, forced labor, conspiracy, healthcare fraud, mail fraud, and Medicare fraud.