Physicians:
WHEN A PATIENT TURNS INTO A WHISTLEBLOWER...
Published on Thu Oct 16, 2003
Michigan doctor on the line for more than $500,000. Doctors can't be in two places at once - and trying to be can cost them big time. Dr. Raymond Weitzman recently learned that lesson the hard way, and now will hand over $571,451 to settle allegations that he improperly billed Medicare for the treatment of thousands of nursing home patients. The improper billing spanned a six-year period, from January 1993 through April 1999, according to U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins. Among his more grievous billing errors: In a single day, the West Bloomfield, MI physician billed Medicare for treating 103 nursing home patients - although in fact he was aboard an airplane that took off at 10:00 that morning. Similarly, he claimed to treat more than 4,000 patients "during a time when Weitzman notified his disability insurance carrier that he was effectively unable to work" due to a serious head injury he suffered in a bicycle accident, Collins reports. The settlement arises from a whistleblower suit filed by Harriet Marash and her husband, Irving Marash - one of Weitzman's former nursing home patients. Harriet Marash's estate will receive more than $60,000 of the settlement proceeds for tipping off the feds. Weitzman denies all the allegations, and agreed to settle for the sake of putting the matter behind him.