California Division of Workers’ Compensation Suspends 4 Medical Providers

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California’s Department of Industrial Relations and the Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended four more medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ compensation system.

The suspensions were made possible by the passage last year of Assembly Bill 1244, which requires the DWC administrative director to suspend any medical provider convicted of a crime involving fraud or abuse of the Medi-Cal or Medicare programs or the workers’ comp system, a patient, or related types of misconduct.

George Parisotto, the DWC’s acting administrative director, issued suspension orders for two providers who had not appealed suspension notices issued in early April.

Kenneth Johnson, a physician in Ladera Heights, was suspended based on a criminal conviction, his prior suspension from the Medicare program and the loss of his professional license. He was found guilty in 2014 of federal charges for a $20 million scheme to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal. Johnson reportedly pre-signed thousands of blank prescriptions that were used on fraudulent claims for anti-psychotic medications.
Raymond Severt, an orthopedic surgeon in Santa Rosa, was also suspended based on a criminal conviction related to his qualifications and duties as a service provider and the loss of his professional license. Severt was convicted in Marin Superior Court for attempted lewd acts on a minor under the age of 14, and the Medical Board of California revoked his license following the conviction.

Parisotto also issued orders upholding the suspension of two providers who had appealed their notices and had their appeals rejected:

Philip Sobol, an orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles, was suspended based on a criminal conviction involving fraud and abuse of the workers’ comp system. Sobol pled guilty in 2015 for participating in a kickback scheme at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, illegally referring thousands of his patients for spinal surgeries.
Thomas M. Heric, a physician in Los Angeles, was suspended due to a criminal conviction and prior suspension from the Medicare program. Heric was convicted over a decade ago in Sacramento’s federal district court for Medicare and Medicaid-related health care fraud, which also resulted in his suspension from those programs by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

There are currently 23 providers suspended from California’s workers’ comp system, according to the DWC.