A Mississippi physician was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $15 million after being convicted in a hospice fraud scheme, SuperTalk reported Feb. 9.
Scott Nelson, MD, 58, of Cleveland, Miss., was found guilty in April of referring patients who were not terminally ill to hospice care, according to the report. Dr. Nelson was found responsible for more than $16 million in fraudulent payments from Medicare to multiple hospice organizations.