Corrupt doctors, clinics cost us millions:
Doctors who are involved in this are the lowest form of bloodsuckers,"

Millions of tax dollars are being stolen from Florida's Medicaid
program by some doctors, clinics and patients who resell prescription
drugs to street buyers, a grand jury report states

Miami Herald
Ashley Fantz, afantz@herald.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist on Thursday released a grand
jury report detailing how corrupt doctors, clinics and patients
throughout the state have for years defrauded Medicaid and cost
taxpayers millions.
"This is a sobering and disgusting way to abuse a system -- a very
good system when used correctly -- meant to serve people who need
these drugs and can only get them through Medicaid," said Crist about
the report, which focuses on South Florida.

In fraud cases, a doctor and patient scheme to get drugs paid for by
Medicaid.

The patient may sell the drugs on the black market or to wholesalers
who often adulterate the drugs and sell them to unwitting consumers.
The doctor takes a cut of the profits or receives favors for
participating.

The grand jury, which was convened in Broward County, noted one case
in which an offender brought a briefcase packed with $300,000 to buy
black market prescription drugs.

It's not unusual, the report said, for investigators to find pharmacy
labels belonging to Medicaid recipients discarded in the trash of drug
wholesale facilities. Solvents are used by the wholesalers to remove
pharmacy labels without damaging the manufacturer's label, so that
medicine can be resold.

"That should show how serious this is," said Crist.

According to the grand jury report, there are "few, if any,
consequences to Medicaid recipients who sell their expensive
medications to wholesalers."

And Florida's efforts to combat the crimes "pale in comparison to what
other states" have done, according to the report.

"We'll be working with the Legislature to correct this and I am
confident we will have their full cooperation," Crist said.

Col. James McDonough, Florida's anti-drug czar, said he is working
closely with Gov. Jeb Bush who fully supports legislative change to
halt Medicaid fraud.

"Doctors who are involved in this are the lowest form of
bloodsuckers," he said, because they reduce the market supply of drugs
such as those used to treat AIDS and cancer.

The proliferation of infusion clinics has also contributed to the
spread of this form of fraud, said McDonough. Drugs that treat HIV/
AIDS need to be infused, or mixed in a solution which is intravenously
administered.

The grand jury heard from witnesses and watched surveillance tape of
elaborate schemes that use infusion clinics as a front.

The clinics recruit Medicaid recipients with an $80 to $100 payment.

The recipient is given a prescription and directed to a pharmacy,
which delivers the drugs to the clinic -- whether or not it is
registered with Medicaid.

According to the report, investigators said an elaborate system
involving the clinics is sometimes used.

For example, if an infusion patient were prescribed 40,000 units of
medication, the pharmacy would deliver several infusion bags with
lower dosages, still totaling 40,000 units.

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