Farid Fata, MD, a Detroit-area hematologist-oncologist, will pay $8 million to resolve malpractice lawsuits alleging he purposely misdiagnosed patients with cancer and administered unnecessary chemotherapy to healthy patients.
The settlement will be divided among about 40 of Dr. Fata's more than 500 victims. Many of his past patients didn't file malpractice suits, as the statute of limitations barred some from suing, according to the Detroit Free Press.
In September 2014, Dr. Fata admitted he prescribed and administered unnecessary aggressive chemotherapy, cancer treatments, intravenous iron and other infusion therapies to patients in order to increase his billings to Medicare and private payers. He also admitted to soliciting kickbacks from home healthcare companies in exchange for his referral of patients to those facilities.
Through the scheme, Dr. Fata submitted approximately $225 million in claims to Medicare from August 2007 to July 2013. In July 2015, Dr. Fata was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits:
DOJ charges 3 people for $1B Medicare fraud scheme
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Sources: More than 400 hospitals settle with feds over DSH payment calculations