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State board grants Nathaniel Brown a conditional, restricted medical license after show-cause hearing
Summary
After a show-cause hearing over his 2016 health-care fraud conviction and OIG exclusion, the State Board of Medical Licensure approved a conditional restricted license for Dr. Nathaniel Brown with several requirements including an updated CPAP evaluation, course work and practice restrictions.
The State Board of Medical Licensure approved a conditional, restricted medical license Wednesday for Dr. Nathaniel Brown, who sought reinstatement after a 2016 federal health-care fraud conviction and subsequent administrative sanctions.
The board’s hearing officer, Alexis Morris, summarized evidence that Brown pleaded guilty in federal court to one count tied to a scheme to certify hospice patients who were not eligible and that a federal court ordered roughly $1.94 million in restitution. Morris also noted that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) placed Brown on the federal exclusion list.
Why it matters: The board cited the seriousness and health-system implications of the underlying fraud allegations and the OIG exclusion when considering whether to restore Brown’s license. But the board also considered recent evaluations Brown completed and his statements about rehabilitation.
At the hearing, Brown testified that he pleaded guilty on advice of counsel, that he had paid and was continuing to pay restitution in installments (he described an individual liability figure of $570,839.49 in the court record and joint-and-several exposure that contributed to the roughly $1.94 million total), and that his supervised release (parole) ended in March 2023. Brown told the board he had completed a CPAP clinical assessment in January 2022 and described work he claims to have done in public-health and coroner-related roles since his prison sentence.
Board counsel, Paul Barnes, reviewed the plea agreement, the court sentence (described at the hearing as 39 months’ incarceration and three years of supervised release), and the OIG letters placing Brown on the exclusion list for an extended period. Barnes told the board those matters, together with the board’s 2018 revocation order, formed the statutory bases for the show-cause action.
After questioning and discussion in executive session, the board announced it would grant Brown a conditional, restricted license. The conditions announced publicly require Brown to complete an updated CPAP evaluation, complete a board-approved ethics course and a board-approved reentry program, and to refrain from working in hospice or home-health settings or collaborating with advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in those areas. The board also said Brown may petition the board again after fulfilling the stated requirements, but not in less than one year.
The board did not announce a roll-call vote tally during the public reading of the decision. The board president and hearing officer indicated further administrative details (for example, how to contact the executive director about compliance) would be supplied to Brown in writing.
Looking ahead: Brown must complete the stated conditions and follow the board’s reporting requirements before the restriction can be lifted. The OIG exclusion remains separate from the board’s licensing action and may continue to limit Brown’s ability to bill federal programs until/unless the OIG rescinds or modifies that exclusion.
Sources: The board admitted the applicant’s pleadings, plea agreement, sentencing and restitution documents, the OIG exclusion printouts, the CPAP assessment, and the board’s 2018 revocation order into evidence during the hearing.
