Three in Westchester hit by no-fault billing ban

Two physicians and a massage therapist in Westchester County are among 18 persons banned from billing New York”™s no-fault auto insurance system as part of an ongoing state investigation of fraudulent and costly no-fault claims by health service providers.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, when announcing Thursday the first round of bans stemming from a Department of Financial Services investigation said, “Doctors and medical service providers who conspire to abuse the system should know that New York state is watching and will not hesitate to take appropriate actions to shut down fraud when it occurs.”

State officials said investigators have found evidence of doctors and other health service providers giving unnecessary treatment to car accident victims, billing insurers for unnecessary treatment or treatment that was never provided, and “renting” their taxpayer ID number to fraudulent medical practices run illegally by laypersons who submit fake bills to insurance companies.

No-fault insurers in New York usually pay health service providers directly, assuming that a licensed health service provider administered the treatment and the treatment was necessary. But abuses of a system designed to reduce auto insurance premiums and speed up accident victims”™ medical care instead have driven up premiums, according to state officials.

State Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin M. Lawsky said such fraud “drives up costs for every single New Yorker on the road. A dirty doctor is typically the key ingredient in these schemes and cutting them out can have a major impact.”

State officials said the 18 providers initially banned by Lawsky”™s department either engaged in illegal or dishonest practices or failed to respond to the department’s inquiries on billings.

Included on the ban list are Gary Leviton, a massage therapist in Valhalla, and two physicians with offices in Mamaroneck, Dr. Dan Steven Lewis and Dr. Stuart Press.