Delray Beach Doctor Sentenced for $2.1 Million Medicare Scheme

July 7, 2016

A Delray Beach doctor was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2.1 million after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud.

Dr. Isaac Kojo Anakwah Thompson will have two years of supervised release after he serves the sentence of three years, 10 months handed down to him July 7 by U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch.

Thompson’s scheme involved Medicare Advantage plans sponsored by Humana. Medicare Advantage allows Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in health insurance plans sponsored by private insurance companies. Medicare pays the insurance company a fixed monthly fee. Medicare, however, does not adjust the fee according to the cost of medical care; Medicare adjusts the fee according to the medical condition of the patient. So Medicare pays more for a beneficiary with a serious medical condition.

Thompson became a primary care physician (PCP) in Humana’s network. Between 2006 and 2010, Thompson falsely diagnosed 387 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with ankylosing spondylitis, a rare chronic inflammatory spine disease. That resulted in an extra $2.1 million, of which 80 percent went to Thompson as the PCP.

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