Columbia doctor federally charged for falsification of healthcare documents

By Sarah Motter

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    COLUMBIA, Missouri (KCTV) — A doctor in Columbia, Mo., has been federally charged with multiple counts of falsifying healthcare statements and forfeiture.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri says that on Tuesday, Jan. 23, a federal grand jury indicted Jerry J. Bruggeman, 52, a physician, for making false statements in Medicare orders. He faces 13 separate charges of making false statements relating to healthcare matters and forfeiture which would require him to forfeit $29,440.

The federal indictment alleged Bruggeman provided false statements about Medicare beneficiaries who received medical devices – like braces – or genetic testing. He contracted with a telemedicine company in Boca Raton, Fla., which maintained an online portal that aggregated the personal information of beneficiaries who had been solicited by marketing companies.

Court records indicated that the company created medical assessments and orders for the beneficiaries, then hired medical professionals such as Bruggeman to “review” and sign orders for cancer genetic testing, Pharmacogenetic testing and durable medical equipment. Bruggeman then approved orders for medical devices for eight beneficiaries in March and April of 2019.

Bruggeman said he ordered the devices in each case based on his evaluation of the condition of the patient and determined the divide was medically necessary and appropriate. He electronically signed a physician verification for each device.

The indictment alleged that Bruggeman never evaluated or assessed any patient’s condition, never determined whether they were medically necessary and never decided whether the listed device was consistent with current standards. He also approved genetic testing for five beneficiaries between January and March of 2019. Again, he asserted he deemed the test medically necessary and signed off. Again, he never treated the patients.

The case is set to be prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer and was investigated by Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

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