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DOJ Announces Nationwide Bust of Opiate Prescribers

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Thu Jul 13, 2017 at 02:15:57 PM EST
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The Department of Justice announced a nationwide take-down of pain pill prescribers.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, involving 412 charged defendants across 41 federal districts, including 115 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $1.3 billion in false billings. Of those charged, over 120 defendants, including doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. Thirty state Medicaid Fraud Control Units also participated in today’s arrests. In addition, HHS has initiated suspension actions against 295 providers, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

The press release contains a link for more information, but as of now, the link is a dead one.

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    DOJ Announces Nationwide Bust of Opiate Prescribers | 34 comments (34 topical)

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    Sounds like good news (none / 0) (#1)
    by Peter G on Thu Jul 13, 2017 at 03:16:30 PM EST
    for white collar defense lawyers.

    i'm against this (none / 0) (#2)
    by linea on Thu Jul 13, 2017 at 07:38:39 PM EST
    they shouldn't arrest doctors for prescribing medications. any medication.

    Jeralyn will agree with you on this point (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Peter G on Thu Jul 13, 2017 at 08:07:34 PM EST
    The government claims that their prosecutions do not require a criminal jury to decide between two views of what is medically appropriate, but in truth, they often do.

    Parent
    I'm a bit torn (none / 0) (#4)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jul 13, 2017 at 08:22:21 PM EST
    The hippie druggie side of me agrees with you.  Scripts for everyone.

    But I honestly think maybe you have to live in rural America to appreciate the carnage caused by the over prescription of opiates

    Seen so many lives destroyed.  Including family members.

    This doctor, the one who prescribes them for my niece, he knows she is an addict.  He knows her problems are psychological not physical.  He gives her the prescriptions just to get her out of his office, bill her, and bring in the next addict.

    He is well known for this. If this is a serious thing I will be surprised if he is not on the list.

    Parent

    I'm not saying there aren't valid cases (none / 0) (#5)
    by Peter G on Thu Jul 13, 2017 at 08:38:07 PM EST
    for prosecution. I have seen some of them, too. Doc's office becomes a pill mill. No physical exam done, just pills (or prescriptions for pills) handed out for cash, customer (can't say "patient") after customer. Not making excuses for those cases, except that the punishments for the docs have been excessive, considering that the docs I'm seen taken down in those cases were elderly, often impaired themselves, and no longer able to maintain real practices. For that, I blame the medical profession for not self-policing as well as the legal profession seems to.

    Parent
    The guy (none / 0) (#6)
    by