Doctor gets 3-plus years in prison for Medicare fraud

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A South Florida doctor will spend more than three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to falsely diagnosing hundreds of patients in a Medicare fraud scheme.

Court records show 57-year-old Isaac Thompson of Delray Beach also was ordered Wednesday by a federal judge to pay more than $2.1 million in restitution to the government. Thompson previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud.

Authorities say Thompson falsely diagnosed 387 patients enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program with a rare spinal condition. The patients were enrolled in a Humana Inc. health plan that was reimbursed for each diagnosis by Medicare.

The federal program paid out $2.1 million in excess benefits, 80 percent of which went to Thompson. Almost none of the patients actually had the rare spinal condition.