A California man was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a $2.8 million fraud scheme in which Medicare was billed for hospice services that the patients did not need. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, John Thropay, MD, 75, of Arcadia, was the medical director of multiple hospice companies, including Blue Sky Hospice Inc., located in Van Nuys, California. From October 2014 to March 2016, Thropay fraudulently certified Medicare patients of Blue Sky Hospice as having terminal illnesses that the patients did not have so that the company could bill Medicare for hospice services. In 2015, Thropay was listed as attending provider for more hospice claims paid by Medicare than any other provider in the nation. Thropay was convicted at trial in the Central District of California of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and four counts of healthcare fraud on Feb. 15.
