Government Puts Patients in Harm's Way at Doctors' Offices
U.S. Newswire › February 21, 2011
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Summary
TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In what officials call the "largest-ever federal healthcare fraud takedown," 700 federal agents rounded up more than 100 suspects in a nationwide sweep of arrests on Feb 17. Television news showed armed FBI agents in bullet-proof vests hauling off a doctor and staff members in handcuffs.
Such raids are not new. In the past, patients have reportedly been lined up against the wall by agents with unholstered guns, and in one instance a 9-year-old boy had a gun pointed at him in his own home, which was adjacent to his father's office. But the scope is increasing. The new healthcare reform law adds $100,000,000 to the law enforcement budget. Additionally, the burden of proof is lowered- -there is no need to prove intent to defraud--and penalties are harsher, as summarized in the fall 2010 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (http://www.jpands.org/vol15no3/ orient.pdf).See the full content of this document
Extract
Government Puts Patients in Harm's Way at Doctors' Offices
Seeing a large squad of heavily armed agents, one might think they are expecting to encounter terrorists or drug cartels, and seeki...
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