Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner To Pay $21,000 To Resolve Civil Liability For Alleged Violations Of The False Claims Act

HARRISBURG, PA —The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP) Kate Cordisco, has agreed to pay the United States $21,000 to resolve civil liability for alleged violations of the False Claims Act.

According to Acting United States Attorney, Bruce D. Brandler, between August 2018 and April 2019, Ms. Cordisco accepted consultation fees for ordering Durable Medical Equipment (DME) for patients with whom she did not have an established provider-patient relationship.  She attested to the medical necessity of the orders for pre-selected products without any physical examination of the patients.  In many instances, Ms. Cordisco had no interaction at all with the patients, and in some instances she had only a brief phone call.  By approving and signing orders for medically unnecessary DME such as knee braces in exchange for a small fee per patient from a third-party marketing company, Ms. Cordisco played a key role in a larger telemedicine scheme that resulted in Medicare paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to DME companies for unnecessary medical equipment.

“While telemedicine can result in efficient and accurate patient care when practiced correctly, if providers are willing to jettison their professional responsibilities and accept small consultation fees from marketing companies to sign off on medically unnecessary orders for expensive DME, the healthcare system as a whole becomes compromised,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brandler, “When providers in MDPA choose to engage in this conduct and facilitate these fraudulent schemes in this manner, they will be held accountable.”

This Settlement Agreement is neither an admission of liability by Ms. Cordisco nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.

The investigation was handled by Assistant United States Attorney, Tamara J. Haken and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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