And the defrauding of Medicare and Medicaid by private for profit corporations continues unabated.
In this capitalist society, the reality is that many for profit health care institutions make money by swilling at the government trough and bilking the US government.
The Bushite corporate mind set, like the two former oil company execs sitting in the White House, is grab all you can get from the government of, by, and for the people to support and enrich government of, by, and for corporations and the wealthy.
While the Bush administration has been privatizing government, his corporate crony privateers have been robbing government.
The most recent crimes are reported in the
NYTimes:
"An investigation into what the authorities say was a scheme that used homeless people to bilk tens of millions of dollars from federal and state health insurance programs began four years ago with a tip from a rescue mission employee.
"And on Wednesday, federal agents raided three private for-profit hospitals ”Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center, City of Angels Medical Center, and Tustin Hospital and Medical Center in Orange County ”in connection with an alleged fraud scheme involving federal Medicaid and state Medi-Cal health insurance programs. Agents arrested Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam, owner and chief executive of City of Angels Medical Center, and Estill Mitts, who is accused of recruiting patients from his Skid Row storefront church, the 7th Street Christian Day Center. Mr. Mitts posted $25,000 bond and is confined to his home. Dr. Sabaratnam posted $700,000 bail Thursday night. "In a 21-count grand jury indictment, the men are charged with conspiring to take and receive kickbacks for referrals and to commit health care fraud. Mr. Mitts is also charged with money laundering and tax evasion.
"Those accused of being involved in the alleged scam billed Medicaid and Medi-Cal for thousands of fake treatments, according to lawsuits filed by the Los Angeles cityattorney, Rocky Delgadillo, and Thomas P. O'Brien, the United States attorney for the Central District of California. According to the lawsuits, Los Angeles Metropolitan, City of Angels and Tustin hospitals paid Mr. Mitts $1,600 to $20,000 a month and paid salaries to patient recruiters he managed.
"Mr. O'Brien said the private hospitals were trying to keep beds occupied at the expense of taxpayers.
"Although Medicare scams are relatively common, Mr. O'Brien said they usually implicated small clinics or doctors' offices. The scale and duration of this enterprise is unusual, investigators said.
" 'These allegations involve individuals in a complex arrangement involving shell companies, kickbacks, bogus contracts with the people committing fraud and hospitals covering up kickbacks,' Mr. O'Brien said."
And that is how the rich get richer under this criminal Bush regime.
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