TL/DR –
The ex-CEO of a healthcare business in Michigan has agreed to pay $250,000 to settle allegations that her company defrauded Medicare and Medicaid, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. The company, Advance Visiting Physicians, allegedly claimed reimbursement for home visits made by unlicensed and unsupervised doctors trained overseas. One such doctor, who received medical training in the West Indies but was not licensed in the U.S., was hired in 2016 and, along with four other unlicensed foreign medical graduates, saw around 12 patients per day without supervision.
Ex-CEO of Michigan Healthcare Business Agrees to Pay Fraud Settlement
The former CEO of a healthcare company in Farmington Hills, Michigan, Advance Visiting Physicians, has consented to pay a Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Settlement amounting to $250,000, as per a statement from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The complaint alleged that the Southfield, Michigan woman, who operated the home health care services company with her late husband, a physician, submitted fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims. The claims sought reimbursement for medical home visits conducted by “unlicensed and unsupervised physicians trained in foreign countries.”
The complainant further revealed that an unlicensed individual, educated at a West Indies medical college but unlicensed in the U.S., was hired by the company in 2016. His position was touted as an “assistant to the physician”, but his workload soon revealed he was expected to attend to homebound patients without any licensed physician’s supervision.
The man, alongside four other unlicensed foreign medical graduates, allegedly attended to approximately 12 patients daily – five days a week. They would subsequently fill out a form indicating that the visits were conducted by the owner of the business.
The settlement figure and payment plan were determined by the woman’s financial capacity, as stated by the attorney’s office. For potential instances of fraud, waste, or mismanagement, reports can be made to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at 800-447-8477.
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