Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - May 30, 2008
Jay Weaver, jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
Federal agents on Thursday arrested three Miami-Dade doctors and six other healthcare providers on charges of defrauding Medicare of $56 million by filing false claims for costly HIV drug-infusion treatments.
The arrests are the latest crackdown on clinics that pay kickbacks to Medicare patients so they can charge bogus bills to the U.S. government's healthcare program.
THE INDICTMENTS
A Justice Department strike force unveiled four indictments:
* Dr. Ronald Harris and Enrique Gonzalez, charged with conspiring to submit about $24.5 million in fake Medicare claims for HIV-infusion services at Physicians Med-Care and Physicians Health Med-Care between August 2002 and March 2004. The treatments were never provided to patients, prosecutors said.
* Dr. Carlos Contreras and Dr. Ramon Pichardo, charged with conspiring to file about $6.8 million in phony Medicare claims for drug-infusion services at CNC Medical Corp. between November 2002 and April 2004. The pair and co-conspirators are accused of authorizing treatments to make it appear that legitimate HIV-infusion treatments were being provided at CNC Medical.
* Juan Carlos Castaneda, Dilcia Martinez and Luis Frias, charged with conspiring to submit about $14 million in bogus Medicare claims for drug-infusion services at G&S Medical Center between May 2003 and January 2004. As part of the alleged scheme, the three owners retained physicians and assistants to make it appear that legitimate HIV-infusion therapies were being provided to patients.
* Jose Garcia and Nayda Freire, charged with conspiring to file about $10.9 million in false Medicare claims for HIV-infusion services at Global Med-Care Corp. between April and November 2003.
SOUTH FLORIDA ISSUE
Private clinics operating HIV-infusion scams are widespread in Miami-Dade, according to the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI.
Last year, an inspector general's report said that while South Florida accounts for 8 percent of the nation's HIV/AIDS population, 72 percent of all Medicare claims for infusions originate in the region.
In 2005, South Florida clinics submitted $2.5 billion in drug-therapy bills -- more than twice the $978 million submitted by clinics in the rest of the country combined.
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