{"id":23149,"date":"2016-05-05T10:54:34","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T17:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=23149"},"modified":"2016-05-05T10:54:34","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T17:54:34","slug":"doctor-convicted-162-counts-fraud-medicare-medicaid-blue-cross-blue-shield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=23149","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Convicted of 162 Counts of Health Care Fraud Against Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Jurors found a 59-year-old physician\u00a0<strong>Ona M. Colasante<\/strong>, guilty of \u00a0162 counts of health care fraud where the evidence indicated that he intentionally misdiagnosed patients and did unnecessary medical tests, \u00a0according to officials.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_23151\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23151\" style=\"width: 259px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23151 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Ona-Colasante-.jpg\" alt=\"Ona Colasante\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Ona-Colasante-.jpg 259w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Ona-Colasante--45x35.jpg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23151\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juors found a 59-year-old physician Ona M. Colasante guilty of 162 counts of health care fraud. (Photo: Gainsville Sun)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Colasante, of Gainsville, Florida, faces up to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment on each of the counts of conviction. Sentencing is scheduled for July 25 in federal court.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Colasante owned and operated medical businesses known as the Hawthorne Medical Center in Hawthorne, Florida.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u201cThe Medicare system relies on doctors to diagnose and treat beneficiaries,\u201d stated<strong> Shimon Richmond, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.<\/strong> \u201cWhen doctors intentionally misdiagnose patients, perform unnecessary tests and procedures, and use non-FDA approved drugs and devices on patients for personal gain, they betray the trust of the Medicare system and the patients themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>According to the evidence, these are the facts and circumstances surround this case:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Colasante owned and operated medical businesses known as the Hawthorne Medical Center in Hawthorne, Florida, between 1998 and March 2009, and the Colasante Clinic in Gainesville, Florida, between January 2010 and January 2013.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Through these businesses, Colasante defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida through a series of false billing schemes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">At trial, the government presented evidence that Colasante, and employees acting at her direction, ordered non-FDA approved drugs at a drastically reduced price, administered them to unsuspecting patients, and then fraudulently billed insurance companies for the cost of FDA-approved drugs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The evidence showed that Colasante also billed insurance companies for medically unnecessary tests and submitted false diagnosis codes in support of her fraudulent claims for reimbursement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">In addition, Colasante billed insurance companies for counseling, treatment, and training that was never performed. Her businesses repeatedly submitted fraudulent billings for smoking-cessation treatment purportedly administered to patients who were non-smokers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u201cHealth care programs and patients depend on ethical practices from medical providers,\u201d said <strong>U.S. Attorney \u00a0Christopher P. Canova<\/strong>. \u201cI commend the diligent investigators and prosecutors who uphold our federal laws and bring to justice those who abuse their positions of trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jurors found a 59-year-old physician Ona M. Colasante, guilty of  162 counts of health care fraud where the evidence indicated that he intentionally misdiagnosed patients and did unnecessary medical tests,  according to officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[2596,943,179],"class_list":["post-23149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-blue-cross-blue-shield","tag-health-care-fraud","tag-medicare"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Doctor Convicted of 162 Counts of Health Care Fraud Against Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jurors found a 59-year-old physician Ona M. 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