The owner of healthcare software company HealthSplash was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his role in a scheme that prosecutors said fraudulently billed Medicare and other federal healthcare programs more than $1 billion for medically unnecessary equipment.
Brett Blackman, 43, of Johnson County, Kan., was sentenced Oct. 14 after being convicted in April on charges including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements in connection with healthcare matters, according to an Oct. 15 Justice Department news release.
Federal prosecutors said Mr. Blackman owned and served as CEO of HealthSplash, which acquired Power Mobility Doctor Rx, known as DMERx, in 2017. The internet-based platform generated fraudulent physicians’ orders for durable medical equipment and prescriptions. It connected pharmacies, equipment suppliers and marketers with telemedicine companies that accepted illegal kickbacks and bribes.
Mr. Blackman and his co-conspirators targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries and pressured them to accept orthotic braces and other items that were not medically necessary, according to the release. Prosecutors said telemedicine physicians were paid to sign orders without meaningful interaction with patients, and in some cases without any interaction at all.
Medicare was billed for braces for more than 346,000 beneficiaries, an average of four braces per person. Suppliers and pharmacies involved in the scheme billed Medicare and other insurers more than $1 billion and received more than $450 million in payments, according to the release.
The court will determine Mr. Blackman’s restitution and forfeiture at a later date. His co-defendant, Gary Cox, was sentenced in December 2025 to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $452 million in restitution. Mr. Cox, 79, was CEO of DMERx.
At the Becker's 5th Annual Fall Payer Issues Roundtable, taking place November 2–3 in Chicago, payer executives and healthcare leaders will come together to discuss value-based care, regulatory changes, cost management strategies and innovations shaping the future of payer-provider collaboration. Apply for complimentary registration now.
