WCDefenseCA

A slow-moving beast is Justice, dear readers.

So it seems with respect to doctor Gil Tepper, who recently plead guilty to two felony counts of billing fraud.  Apparently the not-so-good doctor sold marked-up items to his own practice, Miracle Mile Medical Center, from his own medical supply company, Metalink Distributors, Inc., and then billed insurance companies.

After his plea, he was ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitute, and is now permanently disqualified from participating in the comp system as a provider or operating any physician-owned medical supply distribution company.

Aside from restitution, he’ll have to complete 300 hours of community service and wear electronic monitoring devices for six months.

So, your humble blogger urges you to check your MPNs and that stack of liens to see if you might suddenly have a defense.  Additionally, your humble blogger also checked Lexis and… oh boy, the irony!

In 2014, the WCAB denied reconsideration when a defendant proceeded on this very theory.  Dr. Tepper and Miracle Mile Medical Center claimed the right to reimbursement for applicant’s back surgery in White v. Warner Bros. Studio Facilities.  Dr. Tepper, acting as treating physician, referred the applicant to Miracle Mile, his own facility.  The WCAB ultimately ruled that this sort of self-referral by Dr. Tepper was not prohibited by Labor Code section 139.3 because this was not an outpatient surgery.

Again, my dear readers, I hope you check your lien caseload and your MPNs, as another fraudster has bitten the bitter workers’ comp dust.