Geisinger chair involved in Medicare fraud settlement
- Shidonna Raven
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Julye Wemple
April 26, 2024
Source: US Department of HHS/OIG
Photo / Image Source: Unsplash,
Danville, Pa. — The chair of Geisinger’s psychiatry department agreed to pay part of a $500,000 settlement for submitting false Medicare claims while working in Ohio.
Dr. Imad Melhelm was a practicing psychiatrist working for a medical service, Neurobehavioral Medicine Consultants (NMC), from 2013 to 2019, according to the Attorney General’s office in the southern district of Ohio.
Melhelm and NMC’s owner and director, Dr. Ali Melhelm, both served as treating psychiatrists at Cambridge Behavioral Hospital in Cambridge, Ohio. While there,
prosecutors say the doctors admitted medically ineligible patients to the hospital, delayed patient discharges, and billed for services and visits that did not occur, or were billed at a higher rate than was supported by the records.
In 2020, the Melhelms and their practice group agreed to pay $549,092 as part of a settlement, the AG’s office said. Of that, $274,546 is to be paid as restitution.
Geisinger spokesman Chris Murphy acknowledged Dr. Imad Melhelm was hired by Geisinger after the settlement, but declined to comment on the Medicare fraud case.
“Dr. Melhem is a licensed physician and chair of psychiatry at Geisinger,” Murphy said. “He joined Geisinger in March of 2023. We cannot comment on his work prior to that time.”
According to Geisinger’s website, Melhelm specializes in mood and psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and inpatient care.
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