Dive Brief:
- Chicago-based Home Care America Inc. managed the business operations of Medicall Physicians Group, which sent physicians to customers homes to prescribe home health care.
- Rick Brown, then president of Home Care America, allegedly rendered services to patients who were deceased, services provided by healthcare professionals who, based on billing records, worked more than 24 hours per day, and services provided by professionals no longer employed by Medicall, according to the government.
- In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman ordered Brown to pay $1.3 million in restitution.
Dive Insight:
Medicare paid more than $1 million of the $4 million in services that Medicall submitted over a five-year period. Two others were convicted of offenses related to the scheme. Mary Talaga, Home Care America's biller, was convicted with Brown and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 18. Roger Lucero, Medicall's medical director, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date. The case was investigated by the FBI and was part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which operates in nine cities and has charged more than 2,300 defendants since its establishment in 2007.