MD/DC clinic charged in New York Consider a compliance plan. NEW YORK: A suburban New York chiropractor and four others have been charged with running a $10 million scheme to dis- guise chiropractic services as rehabilitative medical services and, otherwise, generate false insurance billings, federal prosecutors announced in January. In a 115-count criminal indictment, the five defendants were charged with conspiracy, health care fraud, and mail fraud in connection with the alleged scheme. The chiropractor, who prosecutors accused of running the alleged scheme, was also charged with money laundering in connection with his handling of the proceeds. Prosecutors charged that he led an operation that, from January 1995 through March 1999. generated more than $10 million in false Medicare, no-fault automobile insurance, workers' compensation, and private insurance billings. They also charged that he converted chiropractic practices into medical practices, while maintaining control of them through a series of contractual arrangements. Another defendant was among the physicians hired and paid to serve as the nominal owner of the medical professional corporation, in order to fulfill a state requirement that such organizations be owned by physicians, the indictment alleged. The purpose of the complex arrangement was to allow the chiropractor to bill for more services, and at higher rates, than if his rehabilitative facilities had remained chiropractic in nature, prosecutors charged. Possibility of a fraud conviction is real. OHIO: An Ohio chiropractor will spend four months in prison for ordering unnecessary tests so that he could get kickbacks from the testing companies. The DC recently was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty in October to mail fraud and conspiring to defraud patients of their right to honest services. According to federal prosecutors, the doctor was operating several chiropractic companies in Northeast Ohio, between 1991 and 1998. During that time, he referred his patients for tests to four different testing companies in exchange for kickbacks, according to prosecutors. In one case, the tests were considered "medically unnecessary." Akron Beacon Journal Former professors suing Life Jewish educators' lawsuit claims discrimination GEORGIA: Life University is being sued by three ex- professors and one part-time professor of the school, who claim they were discriminated against because they are Jewish. The plaintiffs claim, in the Dec. 19 civil suit filed in U.S. District Court, that the chiropractic school violated their civil rights. They claim that they were treated less favorably than other. non-Jewish employees with respect to terms and conditions of employment. The suit also claims the decisions to demote and terminate the plaintiffs were based upon their religion. The lawsuit is seeking reinstatement for all plaintiffs to their former jobs, back pay, punitive damages, compensatory damages, and attorneys' fees. The poor treatment continued throughout the plaintiffs' employment, the suit claims, citing several derogatory remarks made by Dr. Sid Williams to the plaintiffs and other Jewish employees because of their religion. The suit includes two letters from Williams to one of the plaintiffs, written one year apart, in which he makes racially-charged remarks. The suit also alleges: Age discrimination, violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, failure to provide employment references, and slander. Marietta Daily Journal Patient Complaints Lead to Direct Access to DCs MINNESOTA: A state investigation in Minnesota recently confirmed what chiropractors already know— HMO members are being denied referrals to chiropractors. State law mandates that Blue Cross HMO members be allowed to receive treatment from chiropractors, if they can also see other specialists who treat similar conditions. Responding to consumer complaints, investigators found that members often were denied referrals, or told that they would have to pay a higher co-payment in order to see a chiropractor, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Both are violations of the state's equal access law. Blue Cross officials downplayed the investigation, saying they were already in the process of changing plans so that everyone has direct access to chiropractic care. But Stephen Bolles, director of Northwestern Health Sciences University, in Bloomington. MN, was "pleasantly surprised" by news of the investigation. The denials have "been going on for years." he tells the Star Tribune. "We have come to accept this as part of the culture of how doctors of chiropractic have been treated by the managed-care plans." Eli Research, Inc., www,eliresearch.com Pass on the information to warn other DCs about events that are really happening to chiropractors. When you see a "yellow page" article in your local, regional, or national newspapers about chiropractic or your fellow chiropractors, fax or mail it to us at TACfor further investigation. Fax to: 1-305-716-9212 or see page 4 for our mailing address.
