Here are five things to know:
1. As owner of Pacific Hospital, Mr. Drobot concocted a plan to pay physicians illegal kickbacks to refer workers’ compensation patients to the hospital for spine surgeries.
2. The Department of Justice report noted Mr. Drobot offered a $15,000 kickback for a lumbar fusion surgery and a $10,000 kickback for a cervical fusion surgery, and bribed physicians to perform spine surgery at his hospital.
3. The 15-year scheme amounted to $500 million in fraudulent bills and $40 million in illegal kickbacks.
4. Mr. Drobot paid most of the kickbacks through medical device sales for state workers’ compensation patients undergoing spine surgery. A California “pass-through” law, which is now repealed, let hospitals bill workers’ compensation payers the total implanted device cost for spine surgeries. He owned the company, International Implants, and would add $250 to every device his company sold to Pacific Hospital. Under the “pass-through” law, California had to pay the total cost of devices.
5. Mr. Drobot will serve a five-year and three-month federal prison sentence for conspiracy and paying illegal kickbacks.
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