A Kalispell nurse practitioner was sentenced to 12 months in prison for conspiring to defraud Medicare of millions of dollars with another Montana nurse practitioner, who was sentenced to nine months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Janae Nichole Harper, 34, of Kalispell and Mark Allen Hill, 54, of North Dakota will both be placed on supervised release for three years following their release from prison. Harper was ordered to pay $4 million in restitution, while Hill was ordered to pay $5 million in restitution.
From Nov. 18, 2017 to July 16, 2019, Harper worked with certain staffing and telemedicine companies and received money to sign approximately 7,673 brace orders, which totaled $8 million billed to Medicare, of which Medicare paid for approximately $4 million, according to court documents. Telemarketers who had no medical training or certification prepared the orders. Harper was paid at least $94,395 for orders she signed.
Hill signed approximately 7,097 brace orders resulting in $10 million billed to Medicare, of which Medicare paid approximately $5 million from Oct. 15, 2017 to April 24, 2019. Hill was paid at least $124,900 for orders signed.
Both defendants previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Harper was a licensed nurse practitioner in Montana, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina and Wyoming and was enrolled as a medical provider with Medicare. Hill was a licensed nurse practitioner in Montana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington.