Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/984530
25 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Dr. Salomon Melgen gets 17 years in prison for defrauding Medicare at least $73M: 6 insights By Shayna Korol S outh Fla.-based ophthalmologist Salo- mon Melgen, MD, received a 17-year prison sentence Feb. 22 for stealing at least $73 million from Medicare, the SunSen- tinel reports. Here are six things to know. 1. Dr. Melgen was previously convicted of 67 crimes, including healthcare fraud, submit- ting false claims and falsifying records in pa- tients' files. He has been in custody since his April 28, 2017, conviction. 2. According to the prosecution, he became the highest paid Medicare physician in the U.S. between 2008 and 2013 by giving elder- ly patients unnecessary tests and treatments they did not need. 3. Prosecutors argued while any physician could make occasional billing mistakes, Dr. Melgen made too many. Among other things, he frequently billed Medicare for tests and treatment on the nonexistent eyes of one-eyed patients. He also split single-use vials of an expensive eye drug into four dos- es, billing Medicare separately for each in- jection. 4. Melgen was ordered to pay $42.6 million in restitution to Medicare; he could be ordered to pay more in the future. 5. Dr. Melgen became politically active in 1997 aer treating Fla. Governor Lawton Chiles, D, who appointed him to a state board. Dr. Mel- gen began hosting Democratic fundraisers at his home and befriended Senator Bob Me- nendez, D-N.J. In a separate trial, Dr. Melgen was accused of bribing the senator, paying for trips they took to France and his home at a resort in the Dominican Republic; Sen. Me- nendez reimbursed Dr. Melgen $58,500 aer the trips became public knowledge. 6. In exchange for the gis, Sen. Menendez allegedly interceded with Medicare officials investigating Dr. Melgen's practice, obtained visas for Dr. Melgen's foreign mistresses and pressured the State Department to intervene in a business dispute Dr. Melgen had with the Dominican government. n P H A N TO M C S T M LOCKING DISTRAC TION SYSTEM Reinventing a golden standard Visit us at Becker's Annual ASC Conference, Chicago • Proprietary locking mechanism prevents distractor from riding out of the incision – eliminating frustrating readjustments • QuickStart TM distraction screws contain three cutting flutes providing bone penetration in half the rotations saving precious OR time For immediate information: 713-726-0886 | 877-726-0886 | info@tedansurgical.com Phantom CS and QuickStart are trademarks of TeDan Surgical Innovations, LLC