Medicare fraud at UW - Shorts - University of Washington Medical School

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  May, 2003  by Jule Klotter

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Since 1999, Seattle's University of Washington Medical School has been the focus of federal investigation for Medicare fraud. In that year UW repaid Medicare $3.6 million for improperly charging the system for experimental heart-transplant devices. The following year a UW billings-office worker told authorities about false billing practices by some UW doctors. His assertion that staff doctors were charging for services that they had not performed led to a federal grand jury probe. The office worker tape-recorded incriminating conversations with doctors, some of whom had billed the government for services while they were on vacation. The university says that "the false claims were the unintentional result of complicated filing regulations." It also noted a large discrepancy between the amount that the university billed Medicaid in 2002 ($107 million) and the amount it received ($34 million).

According to an article in The Seattle Weekly, the university has provided "hundreds" of its employees with attorneys during the federal probe. One prominent physician investigated for billing fraud was brain surgeon H. Richard Winn. Dr. Winn plea-bargained "a lesser charge of obstruction of justice." Dr. Wina was sentenced to 5 years' probation and 1000 hours of community service, teaching and treating patients at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Nepal. He also had to pay a $4000 criminal fee and $500,000 to Medicare and Medicaid. In exchange for resigning his position as 11W chair of neurosurgery, Dr. Winn received $970,000 and a guarantee of up to $3.7 million in UW unemployment compensation until he finds a job he wants. The university also paid his legal fees totaling $500,000. Dr. Winn is still allowed to bill Medicare for his work and is eligible for federal grants. According to The Seattle Weekly, kidney doctor and chief of nephrology, William Couser, was also considering a plea bargain. When the dust settles, the legal fees, fines, and settlement paybacks may cost the University of Washington $25 million.

According to the Seattle FBI office, health care fraud is second, after bank fraud, on the list of white-collar crime in that area of the country.

Anderson, Rick. Brain Damage. The Seattle Weekly, January 15-21, 2003

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