Feds Bust Healthcare Facility in Skokie
For Medicare Fraud
By George Slefo
September 28, 2012
Two owners of Skokie based Rosner Healthcare Agency, 4101 Main St., are facing federal charges after allegedly paying and receiving cash kickbacks in exchange for Medicare referral patients, federal law enforcement officials said on Tuesday. Also involved in the alleged scheme were two physicians who did business with Rosner.
All in all, federal officials charged nine people who they believe were part of the scheme.
Ana Nerissa Tolentino, 43, of Morton Grove and a registered nurse, and Frederick Magisno, 59, also of Morton Grove, were both co owners of Rosner Home Healthcare. Also charged was Edgardo Hernal, a former Rosner employee who allegedly conspired to pay kickbacks to physicians in exchange for referrals of Medicare patients that enabled Rosner to bill Medicare, authorities said.
According to the previously filed complaints, Medicare paid Rosner approximately $13 million for claims submitted for home health services between Jan. 2008 and Jan. 2012. Neither the complaints nor indictment allege how much of Rosner’s total Medicare billings were fraudulent, authorities said.
According to the indictment, between Jan. 2008 and July 2012, Tolentino, Magsino, and Hernal conspired with others to pay kickbacks and bribes to doctors. The amount of kickbacks varied but generally ranged from $300 to $600 for each new patient’s completion of five home health visits in one cycle, and ranged between the same amounts for the repeat admission of a previous patient in a new cycle of home health care, federal officials said.
All nine defendants will be arraigned in U.S. District Court on dates to be determined.
These people should be ashamed, for sure, and I hope they are punished to the maximum extent permitted by the law. The trouble is how easy it is to GAME THE SYSTEM since so much of it is automated, and as long as the forms are in place, the government tends to pay. This is expensive, it costs us all, and what in the world? Have these people no shame?
