Even After Doctors Are Sanctioned or Arrested, Medicare Keeps Paying

Mark Greenbain and Anmy Tran (Photos courtesy of WDIV Detroit)

In August 2011, federal agents swept across the Detroit area, arresting doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals accused of running a massive scheme to defraud Medicare.

The following month, several of those arrested —including psychiatrist Mark Greenbain and podiatrist Anmy Tran — were suspended from billing the state's Medicaid program for the poor.

"Health care fraud steals funds from programs designed to benefit patients, and we all pay for it," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in a press release at the time of the arrests. "We hope that the strength of our efforts will have a deterrent effect."

But the indictment and Medicaid suspensions didn't deter Medicare from continuing to allow the doctors to treat elderly and disabled patients — and billing taxpayers for their services.

In 2012, Medicare paid Greenbain more than $862,000, according to newly released data on Medicare payments to physicians. Tran received $155,000.

Greenbain and Tran were among dozens of doctors identified by ProPublica who Medicare kept paying after they were suspended or terminated from state Medicaid programs, indicted or charged with fraud, or had settled civil allegations of submitting false claims to Medicare.

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Even After Doctors Are Sanctioned or Arrested, Medicare Keeps Paying