Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Vascular Doctor Allegedly Took $26M In Insurance Scam To Fund Political Aspirations
The Associated Press: Feds: Florida Doctor Stole $26M To Fund Political Ambition
A Florida vascular surgeon bilked the government and health insurers of more than $26 million to possibly finance his political ambitions in his native country of Ghana, federal authorities said. Earlier this month, a federal grand jury unsealed a 58-count indictment alleging that Dr. Moses deGraft-Johnson falsely billed insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid, for work he did not actually perform. (2/14)
The New York Times: Florida Doctor Bilked $26 Million From Health Insurers, Officials Say
Dr. deGraft-Johnson, who owned and operated the Heart and Vascular Institute of North Florida in Tallahassee, a doctor’s office and outpatient catheterization lab, used his privileges at a hospital to poach patients “for purposes of subsequently billing health care benefit programs for interventional vascular procedures” that were never done, court records said. From September 2015 to this month, Dr. deGraft-Johnson submitted scores of fraudulent claims to health insurers, including Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, court papers said. (Diaz, 2/15)
ABC News: Doctor Allegedly Took $26 Million From Insurers With Phony Medical Procedures: Prosecutors
Prosecutors claim the doctor told officials his "ultimate long-term professional goal" was to be the president of Ghana, and he had "been hard at work using the proceeds of fraud in the United States to establish an empire in a foreign country." William Bubsey, the attorney who represented Degraft-Johnson at the hearing, didn't immediately return messages for comment to ABC News. Bubsey told the judge that any money his client might have sent to his home country was meant to help impoverished people there and not for personal use, the Associated Press reported. (Pereira, 2/16)
