LAB OWNER GUILTY IN MEDICARE FRAUD.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer The owner of a Glendale medical testing laboratory who was recently extradited from the Philippines has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Medicare program by submitting $2.2 million in bills for blood testing that was never performed, prosecutors said Tuesday. Ernesto Penaflorida, 57, who formerly resided in Glendale, pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew Ronald S.W. Lew (Chinese name: 刘成威; born 1941) is a U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California in the Ninth Circuit. Outside of Hawaii, Judge Lew was the first Chinese-American appointed to the federal bench after being appointed by , said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Arian. In a plea agreement, Penaflorida admitted that he and others associated with his company, Medstat Clinical Laboratory, submitted bills to Medicare and Medi-Cal for services that were never performed, Arian said. From January 1997 until about May 1998, Medstat submitted approximately $2.2 million in fraudulent bills, and Medicare paid about $1.3 million of those claims, Arian said. Lew is scheduled to sentence Penaflorida on Feb. 2. The charge of health care fraud carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The false claims indicated that the following tests, among others, had been conducted by Medstat: RBC RBC red blood cell. RBC or rbc abbr. red blood cell RBC, n See red blood cell count. RBC red blood cells; red blood (cell) count (see blood count). protoporphyrin protoporphyrin /pro·to·por·phy·rin/ (-por´fi-rin) any of several porphyrin isomers, one of which is an intermediate in heme biosynthesis; it is accumulated and excreted excessively in feces in erythropoietic protoporphyria and variegate (a test to detect iron deficiency and lead poisoning), thin layer chromatography Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique used to separate chemical compounds [1]. It involves a stationary phase consisting of a thin layer of adsorbent material, usually silica gel, aluminium oxide, or cellulose immobilised onto a flat, (a test to detect drug metabolytes), chemiluminescent chem·i·lu·mi·nes·cence n. Emission of light as a result of a chemical reaction at environmental temperatures. chem assay (a test useful in the identification of chlamydia and tuberculosis), and sedimentation rate (a test used to measure inflammation and infection in rheumatism rheumatism (r  `mətĭzəm), general term for a number of disorders that cause inflammation and pain in muscles, bones, joints, or nerves. patients). Not only did Medstat fail to complete the blood tests, it did not have the ability to perform these tests, Arian said. Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com |
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