By Kristy Tallman, June 27, 2024
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A Tennessee podiatrist has been sentenced to four years in prison for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded Medicare and TennCare, a Medicaid program in Tennessee, by prescribing and dispensing medically unnecessary foot bath medications, leading to millions of dollars in reimbursements.
Nathan Lucas, D.P.M., 59, of Memphis, owned and operated a podiatry clinic and two pharmacies. Evidence presented at trial revealed that Lucas regularly prescribed antibiotic and antifungal drugs to be mixed into foot baths for patients. These medications included capsules, creams, and powders that were neither intended to be dissolved in water nor water-soluble. Lucas selected these medications based on their high reimbursement rates rather than medical necessity. Between October 2018 and September 2021, Lucas’s pharmacies submitted nearly $4 million in claims to Medicare and TennCare, resulting in reimbursements exceeding $3 million for unnecessary medications.