The U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against an Illinois physician for allegedly signing orders for medically unnecessary orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries she never examined, the Justice Department said in an April 15 news release.
Between December 2018 and April 2019, Alexandria Williams, MD, allegedly signed pre-populated orders for orthotic braces based on telemarketing calls made to Medicare beneficiaries, without contacting or establishing a medical relationship with the patients. The orders allegedly contained false statements indicating Dr. Williams had evaluated patients, discussed orthotics with them and provided follow-up care instructions.
Dr. Williams allegedly received payment per order through a staffing company connected to Integrated Support Plus, a telemedicine company whose owner pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme in 2020. Medicare paid approximately $630,000 in false claims as a result of the alleged conduct. The claims are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
This is the eighth DME fraud case Becker’s has reported on since CMS announced a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for certain DME suppliers.
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