State and federal law enforcement officials cast a wide net when they make arrests for health care fraud in Florida. Unfortunately, sometimes they catch the innocent along with the guilty. For an individual, an accusation of health care fraud can mean thousands of dollars in fines and a lifetime criminal record. For a health care professional, it can result in loss of your professional license and your career.
Protecting Your Future From Health Care Fraud Charges
If you are being investigated for or have been charged with health care fraud, your future is at risk. Mr. Rose, however, has a passion for protecting medical professionals from criminal charges. He provides aggressive representation for all types of health care fraud charges, including:
Upcoding – Medical coding is a complex and frequently infuriating process for healthcare providers and organizations. Billing for products or services that are more complex and expensive than the ones actually provided is called upcoding and can be done by individuals or organizations inadvertently.
Unbundling – Unbundling is the practice of submitting fragmented bills for medical procedures or tests to maximize the reimbursement from an insurance company. This happens when these bills should theoretically be billed together at a reduced cost.
Providing unnecessary services –In 2015, a Detroit-area physician received 45 years in prison for administering chemotherapy to healthy patients who didn’t have cancer. He collected $17.6 million from for the treatments. Most allegations of this form of healthcare fraud are not nearly this extreme, but it does reflect the seriousness of these types of charges.
Doctor shopping – In 2015, opioids killed more than 33,000 people in the United States. Almost 50% of opioid related deaths resulted from taking a prescription opioid. These deaths have resulted in law draconian sentencing laws for the dispensing even relatively small amounts of opioid medications, which can occur when patients visit multiple physicians or pharmacists to obtain multiple doses of such substances. Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program makes it easier for physicians and pharmacists to track this behavior, but anything perceived to be illicit prescribing or dispensing can result in serious criminal charges.
Medical identity theft – Personal health information (PHI) has become almost completely digitized in the healthcare industry. While this has provided providers and patients with numerous benefits, it has also created greater risk of the theft of patients’ PHI. If employees or other parties fraudulently obtain a patient’s medical identity to wrongfully obtain healthcare goods, services, or funds, the provider can be implicated, often wrongfully, for the misuse of the PHI.
Billing for services or items not furnished – Billing for services or healthcare items not actually provided is the most common and often the simplest form of healthcare fraud. Investigators frequently file charges based on interviews of patients or patients’ families who do not fully understand the issues at hand, thus leading to unwarranted and wrongful charges.
Jonathan Rose Can Help
When a person is charged with health care fraud, it is likely that the government has conducted a lengthy and in-depth investigation to collect damaging evidence. In this situation, nothing is more important than working with a lawyer who has the knowledge and experience to assess your case and determine how best to move forward. You should not discuss the charges with anyone before you contact an attorney. Call 407-894-4555 for a free initial consultation.
Orlando attorney Jonathan Rose has 20 years of experience in state and federal courts, including experience as a former prosecutor. His inside knowledge of how the criminal justice system works can be your advantage. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and Mr. Rose will build an aggressive defense that promotes your innocence.
Talk To An Attorney Today About Health Care Fraud Charges
Mr. Rose is prepared to discuss your case with you. To schedule a free initial consultation, please contact the firm online or call 407-894-4555.