Stafford Pediatrician Who Improperly Stored Vaccines Is Back In The Medicaid Business

The state has reached a settlement with a Manahawkin pediatrician who may have vaccinated as many as 900 children with improperly refrigerated vaccines.

The state Office of the Comptroller fined Michael Bleiman, MD and his practice, Southern Ocean Pediatrics and Family Medicine $156,220. Of that amount, $110,000 went to reimburse the Medicaid Fraud Division.

Bleiman and his practice were temporarily suspended from participating in Medicaid and NJ Family care back in January 2017.

"The quality of care issues in this matter raised significant concerns about the welfare of the Medicaid program participants," said State Comptroller Philip James Degnan. "This settlement holds Dr. Bleiman accountable for his actions while ensuring compliance going forward."

The vaccines the children received include measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A & B, rotavirus, DTaP/Tdap, Hib, pneumococcal, polio, meningococcal and HPV, the state health department has said.

The children participated in the Vaccines for Children (VFC), a federally funded, state operated-program that provides free or low-cost vaccines to eligible low-income children at more than 1,000 medical offices throughout the state every year.

In addition to paying the fines, Bleiman has installed digital thermometers that continuously track and record temperatures where the vaccines are stored. The new equipment will sound an alarm if the temperatures aren't where they should be, according to the settlement.

Vaccines that have not been properly refrigerated under the recommendation of the manufacturer may be less effective. Children who receive these vaccines might not be fully protected against vaccine-preventable diseases, according to the guidelines of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Parents may want to discuss revaccination with a health care provider.

The VFC program determined that the temperature problems may have occurred as early as November 2014. The children who should be evaluated for revaccination were vaccinated between November 2014 and July 28, 2016, according to the health department.

The Medicaid Fraud Division is the state's independent watchdog for New Jersey's various Medicaid programs.

Image: Vaccines for Children