Politics

Teacher Allegedly Cost School Health Benefits Program Over $550,000 Through Scam

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A New Jersey public school teacher allegedly cost a school health benefits program over $550,000 by making false claims for medially unnecessary prescriptions.

Jason Nardachone, 45, allegedly bought compounded medications, such as metabolic vitamins, pain creams, and scar creams for himself and three other teachers, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey on Friday. The fraud ended up costing the New Jersey School Employee’s Health Benefits Program (SEHBP) between $3,300 to $22,800 per medication.

He also allegedly bribed three other teachers to buy medicine they did not need by offering each of the teachers $500 monthly. Nardachone was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, the press release reported.

SEHBP is a healthcare benefit programs for full-time public school employees and eligible part-time school employees, according to New Jersey’s Department of Treasury.

The scam occurred over a period of five months beginning in September 2015, the NJ Advanced Media reported.

Compounded medications are drugs altered by licensed physicians or pharmacists to meet the health care needs of individuals, according to indictment statement from the state’s attorney’s office. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not check the “safety, potency, effectiveness, or manufacturing quality of compounded drugs,” such medications were generally prescribed by physicians when a FDA-approved drug was not helping the patient’s healthcare needs.

“At least as early as in or around 2014, companies marketing various compounded medications for certain compounding pharmacies (the
‘marketing companies’) began targeting individuals (‘beneficiaries’) covered under health insurance plans with prescription benefits that paid for various compounded medications (the ‘paying health plans’) because the compounded medications could be billed to paying health plans at exorbitant prices, which were substantially more expensive than their FDA-approved drug therapeutic equivalent,” according to the court document.

Nardachone is a Social Studies teacher at Lodi High School in Lodi, New Jersey, according to the school’s website.

Public records provided by the Asbury Park Press shows that Nardachone earned $93,844 as of Oct. 15, 2016.

“The count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense,” the news release said.

Lodi High School did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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