Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
OIG Uncovers Medicare Fraud Ring
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) continues to radar in on Medicare referral fraud that is so prevalent in the healthcare industry today.
A New York physician, Bret Ostrager, 51, of Woodbury, New York, a doctor with practices in Nassau County, was found guilty of taking bribes for referring patients to a diagnostic lab — Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC — in New Jersey. The bribes ranged from concert and sporting events tickets and expensive meals to monetary payment for the kick-backs. The total amount of business he referred to the lab resulted in over $909,000 in improper Medicare payments.
Unfortunately, the fraud didn’t stop with this one provider, who was just one piece of a bigger Medicare-scheming machine, which included over 39 offenders, 26 of whom were physicians.
“Its organizers have admitted [the kick-back operation] involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments from Medicare and various private insurance companies,” reports the Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey. “It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case. The investigation has to date recovered more than $12 million through forfeiture.”
Ostrager has been given a hefty fine and will be serving 37 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release for his part in the payment for test-referrals scheme.
Resource: For the complete OIG report on this sentencing, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/new-york-doctor-sentenced-37-months-prison-taking-bribes-test-referral-scheme-new-jersey.
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OIG Uncovers Medicare Fraud Ring
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