Home Health & Hospice Week

Once again, the feds have gone after a physician who accepted kickbacks for referring patients to a home health agency. For years, it seemed authorities were interested in prosecuting only the home care providers involved in such kickback cases. But in the recent compliance crack-down, physicians involved in the schemes also have been on the receiving end of charges and indictments.

In the Los Angeles area, Dr. Bo W. Paik has agreed to pay $530,000 to resolve allegations that he and his late wife, who managed his medical office, received cash payments and patient referrals in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to GreatCare Home Health Inc., a now defunct home health agency based in the Westlake District of L.A. The government's False Claims Act lawsuit alleges that over a three-year period, GreatCare billed Medicare for thousands of home health visits that were not rendered, were medically unnecessary, or both, according to a Department of Justice release. The lawsuit further alleges that GreatCare executed the scheme by recruiting Medicare beneficiaries and paying kickbacks to the beneficiaries and to doctors to induce referrals.

Whistleblower: The lawsuit began when GreatCare's receptionist Misha Kim filed a qui tam lawsuit, the DOJ notes. Several other defendants charged in the case have pled guilty, including GreatCare owner Hee Jung Mun. The other defendants in the case include more physicians, a physical therapist, and nurses.