UNION, Ky. — Two doctors, including a Northern Kentucky chiropractor, have been sentenced to prison time and hefty restitution amounts after they de-frauded Medicaid, Medicare and insurance companies out of over $4 million.
According to Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, the two men performed unnecessary urine drug tests on patients at their Kentucky pain clinic and billed Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurance companies for the costs.
Officials said 51-year-old Dr. Timothy Ehn, of Union, is a licensed chiropractor and was the clinic's owner; he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and ordered to pay $3,773,569.30 in restitution.
The clinic's medical director was 70-year-old Dr. William Lawrence Siefert, of Dayton, Ohio; he was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and ordered to pay $1,968,763.10 in restitution.
According to a press release from Coleman's office, the two physicians' scheme involved clinic staff billing for urine drug tests that were not medically necessary.
The two continued ordering drug tests even after the clinic's testing machine malfunctioned from improper maintenance, Coleman's office said. After that, however, the machine produced "results that falsely suggested patients were testing positive for street drugs like ecstasy or heroin," the press release reads.
Coleman's office did not elaborate on the impact those test results may have had outside Siefert and Ehn's clinic, or whether patients were adversely affected.
However, by the time Siefert and Ehn were indicted, Coleman's office said insurance proceeds from the unnecessary urine drug testing comprised three-fourths of the clinic's revenue.
The two doctors were found guilty by a federal jury on March 23, 2023.
In addition to being convicted on the fraud charges, Ehn and Siefert also faced additional charges during their trial, including conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance; the additional charges stemmed from accusations Ehn and Siefert's clinic over-prescribed opioids to patients, contributing to the deaths of at least 7 people.
However, the two were acquitted of those charges.
According to LINK nky, WCPO's media partner, family members of those who died after receiving prescriptions from Seifert and Ehn have filed a civil lawsuit against the physicians.
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