Florida Dermatology Clinic Forced to Pay $4 Million for Falsified Medicare Claims

Tampa, FL-based dermatology clinic Dermatology Healthcare has been ordered to pay $4 million to the United States government for receiving millions of dollars in false Medicare reimbursements.

Between January 2011 and December 2016, clinic owners Robert and Carol Norman administered “superficial radiation therapy” for patients with non-melanoma skin cancer. According to the attorneys representing the whistleblower who brought forward the lawsuit, Dermatology Healthcare claimed to own a linear accelerator, which is a high-end radiation device typically found in hospitals. However, the clinic was actually performing procedures using a superficial radiation machine, a device that prevents cells from dividing by using electromagnetic energy. U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez also found that these procedures were not adequately supervised and that the clinic “overused radiation simulations.”

Dermatology Healthcare’s services were directed toward patients of long-term care and “assisted-living and retirement community residents.” The clinic’s founder, Robert Norman, DO, has written over 30 books and has been published in various medical journals.

“The rules are simple: bill government health programs only for services actually needed and provided.  No more, no less,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a Department of Justice press release. “We will continue to protect federal health care programs and beneficiaries by holding providers accountable.”