An OB-GYN in Reno, Nev., has been arrested for allegedly defrauding healthcare programs by submitting false claims for unnecessary gynecologic tests and surgeries, some of which caused serious medical complications, the Justice Department said in a Sept. 25 news release.
What happened?
- From Jan. 1, 2017, to Nov. 22, 2022, Samuel Chacon, MD, former owner of Women’s Health Center of Reno, allegedly submitted false claims to Medicaid, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Healthcare Solutions, Health Plan of Nevada, Molina Healthcare of Nevada, Silversummit Healthplan, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nevada, Cigna Healthcare and other insurers.
- The claims included procedures and tests deemed not medically necessary, such as hysterectomies, anterior/posterior repairs, enterocele repairs, vaginal vault suspensions, bladder sling procedures, urodynamic studies, physical therapy and ultrasounds.
- Prosecutors said Dr. Chacon falsified patients’ medical records to include symptoms they never reported and misled them about diagnoses and the need for gynecologic procedures and tests. Some of the unnecessary procedures allegedly caused serious bodily harm.
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