Home Health & Hospice Week

The feds’ crackdown on physicians involved in Medicare fraud continues. In Texas, a jury has convicted Dr. Yolanda Hamilton on kickback charges.

Prosecutors proved at trial that from January 2012 to August 2016, Hamilton signed false and fraudulent plans of care and other medical documents, and submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare to make it falsely appear that her patients were qualified for and received home health services, the Department of Justice says in a release. Hamilton paid the patients, and the billed services were often not medically necessary, not provided, or both.

“The evidence also showed that Hamilton charged home health agencies an illegal kickback in the form of a patient ‘fee’ for certifying and recertifying patients for home health,” the DOJ says.