Doctor faces 20 years in jail for chemotherapy scheme

Being diagnosed with cancer is a life-changing event that brings with it anxiety, depression and many adverse health effects. While cancer may often be treated with surgery, chemotherapy and other treatments, the disease takes a toll on the body that is difficult to recover from. When a patient in Pennsylvania visits their doctor, they place their trust in them regarding their diagnosis and any treatments they are eligible for. A misdiagnosed cancer may lead to harmful treatments that were not necessary for a person to undergo.

Facing 20 years in prison, a Michigan doctor claims the charges he is facing are unfounded. After a nurse complained to law enforcement officials that he was misdiagnosing patients with cancer in 2010, the FBI raided his office and recently arrested him for defrauding Medicare of $35 million.

According to the FBI, the doctor spent years misdiagnosing patients and telling they had cancer when they did not. Patients would then undergo expensive chemotherapy treatments that were not needed in order for the doctor to make money. The doctor is being held on $9 million bond for the scheme that took place over a period of two years.

Although defrauding Medicare is a crime, the true cost to his patients who were wrongly diagnosed can’t be counted. Each patient may have suffered through extensive treatments for a disease they did not have and their bodies may deal with the effects of the chemotherapy for years to come. No matter how much time the doctor serves, it may not be enough to make up for the damage done to innocent patients.

Source: New York Daily News, “Michigan doctor held on $9 million bond for misdiagnosing cancer patients in Medicare scam,” Trudi Bird, August 16, 2013