MA Medical Firm Fined for Using Unlicensed Personnel

December 4, 2014

The AARC has just learned that the Department of Justice has won a case in Massachusetts against a medical supplier that was using unlicensed personnel to provide sleep apnea and respiratory therapy equipment to home care patients and bill Medicare and Medicaid for these services.

In this particular case, the supplier continued to use unlicensed employees to set up sleep apnea masks and oxygen therapy equipment for patients even after they had been told it was illegal to do so in Massachusetts. The Medicare/Medicaid programs require suppliers of respiratory therapy equipment and services to follow state licensing standards.

Said Special Agent in Charge Phillip M. Coyne, “To safeguard patient health and ensure that taxpayer money is spent well, Medicare and Medicaid require providers of respiratory care services to follow state licensure rules. Companies seeking to boost profits by using unlicensed personnel will be held accountable for their actions.”