Patient Case Study: A Rare Neurological Disease Diagnostic Journey

Healthcare Exec Philip Esformes Pleads Guilty To Medicare Fraud, But Is Spared Prison Time

A South Florida businessman pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing millions of dollars from the taxpayer-funded Medicare program, capping a long-running healthcare fraud case marked by a commutation of his initial 20-year sentence by President Donald Trump in late 2020.

Philip Esformes, who formerly lived in Miami Beach while running a chain of skilled-nursing and assisted-living facilities, showed no emotion as a federal judge spared him from going back to prison but imposed tens of millions of dollars in financial penalties reflecting his ill-gotten gains.

Other than acknowledging his criminal activity as a healthcare operator who paid and received bribes in exchange for Medicare patients, Esformes said little during his change of plea hearing in Miami federal court and didn't respond to a reporter's question afterward.

For the full story, please visit miamiherald.Com

Letter: Form Signs You Up With Belong Health

You may recently have received a letter from Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Samaritan Health Services.

The letter asks you to complete a form confirming you go to Samaritan for routine care. Your completed form automatically signs you up with an accountable care organization named Belong Health. You may be enrolled without your knowledge or your doctor's knowledge.

Why is Samaritan cooperating with CMS in this program? The program allows Samaritan to receive extra funding to coordinate wellness services. CMS engages ACOs to provide this coordination at no immediate cost to patients.

Two problems: 1. CMS has experimented with ACOs for 11 years without reliable evidence of success.

2. Belong Health is a private equity venture capital firm owned by New Enterprise Associates and Maverick Ventures.

With corporate earnings as its primary motive, I'm concerned Belong Health isn't interested in improving your health. It's interested in benefiting its investors. Belong Health can keep more than one-fourth of your Medicare dollars for overhead and profit.

Medicare "Advantage" keeps one in seven dollars. The Medicare Trust Fund cannot bear such excessive overheads. Traditional Medicare keeps only one-30th of your dollars for overhead.

If you do not wish to join Belong Health, ignore the letter. If you're enrolled or need to know if you are, call CMS (1-800-633-4227) or visit Medicare online. You may need persistence and patience.

Questions? Go online to Belong Health ACO-Samaritan or Mid-Valley Health Care Advocates.

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