Skokie psychiatrist charged in kickback scheme
Federal prosecutors are claiming a psychiatrist took illegal kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies and submitted at least 140,000 false claims to Medicare and Medicaid after prescribing antipsychotic medications to mentally ill nursing home patients.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago filed a lawsuit Thursday against 69-year-old Dr. Michael Reinstein of Skokie. Prosecutors claim Reinstein also submitted 50,000 false claims to Medicare and Medicaid stating he provided “pharmacologic management” for patients at more than 30 area care facilities.
Reinstein’s office is in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, which has the densest concentration of mentally ill nursing home residents in Illinois.
Prosecutors say he prescribed drugs knowing pharmacies would submit claims to Medicaid and Medicare Part D, and got kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies.
They say he over-prescribed clozapine, a drug with potentially serious side effects.