Medicare scams multiply

Judge Gerald E. Rosen ordered Dr. Toe Myint, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to repay the more than $3.1 million he stole from Medicare. Myint will also serve two years of supervised release following his prison term. Rosen ordered recruiter Terrence Hicks, a Jackson, Mich., resident, to pay more than $4.9 million and serve three years of supervised release following his term.

In another case, an Arleta, Calif.-based medical equipment supplier has pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud totaling approximately a half a million dollars. Sylvester Ijewere, owner of Maydads Medical Supply, admitted to a scheme in which he purchased fraudulent medical prescriptions for expensive power wheelchairs and other equipment, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office.
In the case, Ijewere admitted that from June 2007 to October 2009, he obtained prescriptions and other patient information from fraudulent medical clinics and patient “recruiters” and then billed Medicare for the equipment.

So, what can be done about these bad apples? If there were an island for misfit advisors and other, various Medicare scam artists, that would be a good start.

For now, keep doing the right thing and hopefully, these bad apples will be pulled, one by one, out of the supply chain.