Keeping the feds on their toes

A California podiatrist’s footloose billing habits could land him in prison.

Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Dr. Robert Kasamatsu, accusing him of collecting on fraudulent Medicare billing, totaling more than $600,000 over four years.

Many elderly people who had never even met Dr. Kasamatsu reported that foot treatments they hadn’t received were listed as “paid” on their Medicare statements. Apparently Dr. Kasamatsu accessed their medical records through nursing homes where he sometimes attended to other patients.

But he didn’t check the records quite carefully enough.

Dr. Kasamatsu is also accused of billing Medicare for the treatment of 30 patients who were dead at the time of their supposed procedures. (You can almost imagine a stammering Woody Allen playing the part of Dr. Kasamatsu trying to explain why 30 dead people needed the services of a podiatrist.)

But it gets even better: Almost 40 of Dr. K’s imaginary patients who had received “treatment” on both feet were actually amputees who were missing either one or both feet.

D’oh!

It just goes to show: You have to be light on your feet to stay one step ahead of the feds.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

Sources:
“Not an Easy Feat: Podiatrist Indicted for Billing of Feetless Patients” NBC4 TV, 10/24/03, nbc4.tv