New Focus of Inquiry Into Bribes: Doctors

For a long time now doctors have taken advantage of the elderly and charged them for procedures they dont even need. It isn't until now that the government is finally stepping in. The government is now starting to pay attention to the doctors who receive money as the compnies' paid consultants. Lewis Morris, the chief counsel in the federal office told hundreds of doctors and company representative that they would be "looking at those soliciting kickbacks." This same speech went to the health care lawyers who attended siminars in earlier months. United States attorney in Newark, Mr. Christie addressed sales meetings of the five companies, Biomet, DuPuy Orthopedics, Smith & Nephew, Stryker, and Zimmer who all reached settlemnts last fall to avoid prosecution on charges of illegally being paid kickbacks to surgeons. If that wasn't bad enough, not only are the surgeons and medical suppliers recieving extra money, so are the doctors. The doctors are sending their patients to surgeons for unnecessary knee and hip surgery. Kickbacks raise the overall cost of health care for the 68 year old patients who are weak and unaware of the kickbacks in the health industry. Doctors could be convicted of violating Medicare's antifraud statutes for submitting a bill for a procedure linked to a kickback. The government has yet to put any of these low-life people in prison because they simply settle out of court. Companies such as Biomet, DePuy Orthopaedics, the Johnson & Johnson Company, Smith & Nephew, and Zimmer Holdings have all agreed to pay $310 million in fines to settle civil charges. The money that they have stolen from their innocent patients is the money that they use to bail themselves out of prison, which the government should not allow. Of course the government's perspective on all of this is that it has been "succesful." The doctors and surgeons responsible for charging their clients for procedures they didnt even need should all be put in prison and then it would be "succesful." After all this, the companies were allowed by the government who is supposed to protect us that they did no wrongdoing in the criminal and civil settlements that were negotiated. Each company signed delayed prosecution agreements so they could avoid criminal cases filed against them to be dropped. That is what our government has done to help the hundreds of patients who had a painful surgery and the wallets wiped out, he let the doctors and companies settle out of prison.