Anderson v. Thompson (Summary)

Fraud and Abuse

Anderson v. Thompson, No. 02-2312-JAR (D. Kansas March 10,
2004)

The United
States District Court for Kansas affirmed the Office of the Inspector General’s
(OIG’s) decision to exclude the former chief executive officer of a hospital
from participation in the Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care
programs for a period of 15 years pursuant to his violation of the federal
anti-kickback statute, 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(a)(1). The statute authorizes the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to exclude
certain individuals from participating in federal health care programs. The
court found substantial evidence in the administrative proceedings to exclude
the individual from federally funded health care programs. The evidence included
plaintiff’s criminal conviction and an audit showing a $65,716 loss to Medicare
due to bribes and fraudulent "consulting
fees" paid to doctors in cost reports submitted for Medicare reimbursement.