Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Schemes By Md., Pa. Providers Defrauded Medicaid Of Millions Of Dollars: Courts
The Washington Post: Md. Couple Sentenced To Prison In $80 Million Medicaid Fraud In Nation’s Capital
A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Bowie, Md., wife and husband to 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, for orchestrating a multiyear campaign to defraud D.C. Medicaid of more than $80 million between 2009 and 2014, the largest local health-care fraud scheme ever prosecuted in the city. Florence Bikundi, 53, and Michael D. Bikundi Sr., 63, were ordered to forfeit more than $11 million in cash, their $1 million home and five luxury vehicles by Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who also imposed a money judgment of $40 million and ordered the couple to pay $80.6 million in restitution. (Hsu, 6/2)
The Associated Press: Ex-Hospice Head Pleads Guilty To Medicare, Medicaid Fraud
A former head of a suburban hospice who was accused of using patients who weren't terminally ill to collect millions of dollars in false Medicare and Medicaid billings pleaded guilty on Thursday to a health care fraud charge. Former Horizons Hospice chief operating officer Mary Ann Stewart was indicted last year on one count of health care fraud and four counts of lying to a federal grand jury. (6/2)
