A Nevada physician has been indicted on charges of billing Medicare more than $95 million for medically unnecessary amniotic wound allografts, including procedures performed on elderly patients in hospice care, the Justice Department said in an Aug. 5 news release.
Stephen Dubin, MD, of Henderson, Nev., owned and operated Dubin Medical Consultants, also known as Wound MD. Dr. Dubin allegedly received illegal kickbacks and rebates from two allograft distributors, submitted claims based on inflated sham invoices rather than the actual prices he paid and applied allografts without regard to medical necessity, including to infected wounds and wounds not responding to treatment.
Medicare paid more than $54 million based on the fraudulent claims. Dr. Dubin allegedly falsified patient medical records to conceal the lack of medical necessity and used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle including having multimillion-dollar yachts built.
Dr. Dubin faces one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and five counts of healthcare fraud, each carrying a maximum of 10 years in prison. The case represents the first announced charges in Nevada from the newly formed West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force. All charges are allegations only.
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