Doctor Sues to Save Medicare Billing Rights Over Hospice Role

A medical director designee at a California hospice sued the US Department of Health and Human Services to prevent the termination of his physician billing privileges after an independent contractor found his affiliation with the facility posed a fraud risk to the Medicare program.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday by internal medicine physician Rami Shaarawy seeks injunctive relief from the US District Court for the Central District of California preventing the HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from sanctioning the doctor until his dispute is resolved through Medicare’s internal appeals process.

According to the lawsuit, Medicare law allows contractors to ...