Psychiatrist Marshall Hubsher surrenders his New York medical license; significant criminal and disciplinary history

October 23, 2012

In late June 2012, psychiatrist Marshall Hubsher surrendered his license to the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC), effective July 31, 2012.

The Board’s Statement of Charges, issued May 17, 2012, contains 32 individual specifications against Hubsher, including Exercising Undue Influence on a Patient and multiple counts of both Moral Unfitness and Fraudulent Practice.

The document specifies that Hubsher treated a 24-year-old patient whose insurance he falsely billed on 34 occasions in 2008. Further, Hubsher’s care of patient deviated from acceptable practice in that he asked the patient to photograph him for a magazine; threatened via phone and e-mail to release damaging information about the patient’s family if she did not comply with his request for her write letters to OPMC on his behalf (which he would dictate); requested that the patient provide him with sexually explicit videos of her and failed to maintain a medical record for the patient in accordance with accepted medical standards. He additionally billed the patient’s insurance on 12 occasions for treatment he claimed to have provided to the patient’s mother but which had never actually occurred.

The document states that Hubsher additionally filed multiple false insurance claims on two other patients, in addition to failing to properly evaluate, inappropriately prescribing to and failing to create and maintain proper treatment records on one of them. The document also describes a fourth patient to whom Hubsher inappropriately prescribed numerous dangerous controlled substances and failed to deliver standard treatment to.

Earlier, on April 19, 2012, Hubsher was arrested and charged with raping a female patient on April 3 during their second treatment session. He was released on $50,000 bail.

Hubsher has a considerable criminal and disciplinary record: In December 1982, he pled guilty to knowing and intentionally possessing approximately 2,000 Methaqualone tablets and was fined $5,000 dollars. In March 1983, the Commission of Health found that Hubsher issued a prescription for a controlled substance with a false date. His right to issue triplicate prescriptions was revoked for 24 months and he was assessed a penalty of $1,200. In April 1987, he pled guilty to submitting false claims to the Medicaid program for three and a half years and was sentenced to four months in jail and five years probation and was ordered to make restitution for $25,569.55 and to return $6,550 to two patients. His license was subsequently suspended for five years with 18 month actual suspension and the balance with his license on probation.

In April 1994, the New York Department of Health charged Hubsher with 13 specification of professional misconduct, including practicing on a suspended license, failing to maintain records and practicing fraudulently. His license was subsequently revoked in May 1995. Hubsher submitted an application for restoration in May 1996. It was denied in 1999 and remained revoked until 2006. 

Source: Surrender Order in the Matter of Marshall Hubsher, M.D., BPMC No. 12-131, New York State Department of Health; In the Matter of the Application of Marshall Hubsher for restoration of his license to practice as a physician in the State of New York, Case No. 00-41-60, University of the State of New York, Education Department and Matthew Chayes and Kery Murakami, “Psychiatrist pleads not guilty to rape charge,” Newsday, April 19, 2012.