Ob-Gyn Sentenced To 59 Years For Insurance Fraud And Medical Battery
Why does health care in America cost so much money? Well, the private insurance system that we operate on needs to group high-cost policyholders with low-cost policyholders to provide a balance. If everyone on the plan was over 70 then the plan would cost millions per policyholder. If the plan has people from all different age and risk groups, then the cost can be reduced significantly. Hence the debate over Obamacare and the individual mandate. Without the mandate, the cost would rise exponentially while services would have to be rationed based on need.
While America debates private versus government insurance, the medical industry has contributed billions in waste from doctors who practice an unscrupulous form of medicine. These doctors allegedly bilk patients’ insurance of millions in unnecessary procedures while intentionally misdiagnosing patients with severe and chronic ailments.
One such doctor was recently sentenced to 59 years in Virginia for enriching himself at the expense of his patients and their insurance providers. He will likely never see the outside of his prison cell again.
The victims
At the trial, victims testified that the defendant performed expensive procedures on them that they did not need. In some cases, these procedures left the patients with permanent physical ailments that forever reduced their quality of life. Prosecutors accused the doctor of being motivated solely by greed. His office was able to bilk his patient’s insurance policies of millions of dollars that the doctor used to enrich himself at the expense of his patients. In some cases, the doctor performed unnecessary, irreversible hysterectomies. The doctor performed diagnostic procedures with broken equipment and then use false diagnoses to scare patients into getting invasive surgery.
Many of the doctor’s patients were lower-income mothers on Medicaid. Hence, the doctor was committing fraud against a public health insurance policy, committing medical battery, and physically harming them. The doctor was later scrutinized for attempting to transfer his most prized assets to family members to avoid the assets from being used to fund injury claims against him. He sold a classic sports car to the son of a friend for $1.
Perhaps most telling is that the doctor has taken no responsibility for his actions and used racially charged language to characterize his patients, also calling them “vultures”.
Why is this happening?
While some people decry the expense related to universal health care, there is much less incentive to steal when the profit motive is taken out of the equation. Doctors can bill patient’s medical insurance at will and the patients never get or see a bill for it. New laws make it possible to force doctors to provide medical records, but most patients don’t ask, and this is the result.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Attorney
MichieHamlett is prepared to assist you with your case. Call our medical malpractice attorneys today to schedule a free consultation, discuss your situation, and allow us to begin preparing your case immediately.
Resource:
jdsupra.com/legalnews/virginia-ob-gyn-sentenced-to-59-years-2633042/