Board to hear White insurance fraud case N.C. Medical Board plans to address insurance fraud case involving Winston-Salem doctor

The N.C. Medical Board has chosen to address an insurance fraud case involving Dr. Anne Litton White during a disciplinary hearing planned on another matter.

White has been the operator of Carolina Laser and Cosmetic Center in Winston-Salem since 2004.

The board is scheduled to hold the disciplinary hearing on Feb. 17. The thrice-delayed hearing has been called to address allegations that White falsely told a company mandated to monitor her practice that her office was closed during the early parts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, the board posted an amended notice of charges and allegations involving an unrelated insurance claim filed by White in January 2019.

The board's interest in White's claim to Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. is focused on whether White's conduct "constitutes unprofessional conduct ... including, but not limited to, the committing of any act contrary to honesty, justice or good morals."

One option for the board is to "annul, suspend, revoke, condition or limit Dr. White's license to practice medicine or to deny any application she may make in the future."

White sought $28,327 in reimbursement from the insurer for a piece of equipment she reported as damaged and considered as a financial loss. White also claimed a loss on equipment upgrades, installation costs and business interruptions.

N.C. Insurance Department investigator B.E. Maness reported that the claim contained false information, including allegedly citing damages to equipment that was determined to be "in proper working condition."

Hartford Accident & Indemnity did not pay the claim. It said it spent $900 on investigating expenses.

In January 2020, White was charged with felony insurance fraud and felony attempting to obtain property by false pretense.

In March 2021, the insurance department said White pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor false statement in application for insurance benefits. The fraud case was dismissed as part of White's plea.

White was ordered to pay a $100 fine, $203 in court costs and a combined $2,576.51 in restitution involving the Hartford case and another insurance claim involving Two Men and a Truck and its insurer Gallagher Bassett Services Inc.

The medical board's filing provided more details into her January 2019 claim.

White said she hired a telcom contractor to move her electronic equipment from a practice at Kimel Park to Creekside Way, as well as re-connect the equipment.

White agreed to pay in full once the work was complete.

But when it was completed, the insurance department determined that White "refused to make payment in full and stated she would make partial payments by credit card until the balance was paid off."

The contractor responded by cutting the wiring to the equipment they had installed.

White hired another telcom contractor to reestablish the wiring, and then filed her damages claim with the insurer.

The insurance department determined White's equipment was functioning properly and her office was not closed as she claimed for the three days of repairs.

"No legitimate loss of business was confirmed," according to the medical board's notice.

"Dr. White also attempted to claim the $14,965 fee that she did not pay to the initial telcom contractor as part of her loss, and it appeared she was also attempting to upgrade her equipment in the loss claim."

It is the sixth time White has been subject to a board notice of charges and allegations, the others occurring in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2017 and 2018-20.

Her license has been suspended for a combined 110 days since 2004, the last times from May 7-16, 2018, and from July 16-26, 2018.

Her practice has been operational since the second suspension ended.

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