Under the reform overhaul, whistleblowers — a role doctors sometimes can play — are given more opportunities to help root out fraud, said Joel M. Androphy, a partner at the Houston-based firm of Berg & Androphy, who specializes in whistleblower litigation. The health reform law now allows them to initiate false claims actions based on information already publicly disclosed through state or local administrative reports or proceedings, such as a state Medicaid audit. Read More

The recent health care reform has left many Facebook friends in an unfriendly situation. In the midst of political debates, individuals let the health care issue become personal, often resorting to name calling and four-letter-words in response to political talking points they disagree with. Fox News Houston covers the controversy here, with input from Berg & Androphy’s own Geoff Berg.

Health Care Debate Leads to Deleted Friends?
The health care debate has spilled onto Facebook.com, creating intense online conversation like never before. Some argue it is great to see Americans getting involved in a critical national debate, but the social networking website did not start off as a pulpit for politics, and now that, in some cases, has progressed to digital egos getting bruised. Read More

This week a Pennsylvania doctor who admitted to over $1 million in false insurance claims submitted to Medicare and private insurers for over 5 years was sentenced to a year in prison. The doctor, John Kristofic, age 62, already paid $3.3 million in retribution to the government following his admission of guilt in January of this year.

Dr. Kristofic was found guilty for submitting false claims for services never rendered between 2003 and 2008. The doctor had been accused of healthcare fraud before, but had never been found guilty by a court until this week’s verdict. Chief U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose pointed out that when a doctor such as Kristofic commits healthcare fraud, it’s a national cost and everyone suffers, particularly in today’s tough economic climate. “It’s cheating… It’s stealing.” Ambrose said.

In 1991 Dr. Kristofic had a brush with the law when he was convicted of withholding assets on a federal form. After that incident, he only lost his medical license for a month. Now, it’s likely that the internal medicine specialist never be allowed to practice medicine again.

As harsh as this punishment will be for Kristofic, it’s neither as harsh as it could have been (the maximum sentence for this level of fraud is 3 years) nor undeserved.