Doctors in Southern California implanted counterfeit screws and rods into the backs of thousands of injured workers, with some physicians accepting kickbacks, according to lawsuits filed throughout the state.
Health Care
Flaws in the U.S. health care system, federal health programs and with individual medical providers and patients
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care, Prisons
Secrecy behind Missouri’s execution drugs
Missouri is one of several states that are buying their drugs for executions in secret.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Education, Health Care, Returning Home to Battle
Pilot 3: The arsenic in our drinking water
We dive into the U.S. Coast Guard’s accident problem; arsenic in your water; the secrecy surrounding lethal injection drugs; and the high cost of a GI Bill degree.
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Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care, Law Enforcement, Prisons
Female prison inmates sterilized illegally, California audit confirms
California Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, is one of the legislators who requested the state audit of female inmate sterilizations.Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press UPDATE, June 19, 2014: This story updates throughout with more details about the audit. The California state auditor today blasted federal and state oversight of sterilization surgeries for female prison inmates, finding numerous illegal surgeries […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opiates, Returning Home to Battle
VA hasn’t followed own rules on narcotic prescriptions, audit says
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ failure to follow its own rules governing the prescription of addictive narcotic painkillers has contributed to overdoses and deaths, according to the agency’s inspector general.
Posted inHealth Care, Opiates, Returning Home to Battle
Ex-VA doctor says she was forced out after limiting opiate prescriptions
On the eve of a congressional hearing about the Department of Veterans Affairs’ skyrocketing use of narcotic painkillers, a former VA doctor has stepped forward with new allegations about the agency’s prescription practices.
Posted inHealth Care, Health Care Scams
Bill seeking background checks for rehab clinic owners advances
A bill to require background checks for drug rehab clinic owners advanced in the California Legislature, clearing the Senate Health Committee with unanimous support.
Posted inHealth Care, Health Care Scams
CIR wins IRE award for investigation of rampant fraud at rehab clinics
CIR and CNN receive a national award from Investigative Reporters and Editors for a series that exposed rampant fraud in California drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinics.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Abuse findings continue at developmental centers, despite state scrutiny
In 2012, a resident at the Lanterman Developmental Center in Los Angeles County was found to have blunt force trauma in her genital area. The case is unsolved.Carlos Puma for CIR She is known in public records as Client 98, a disabled woman living at the Lanterman Developmental Center, a state-run board-and-care facility in Los […]
Posted inHealth Care, Health Care for Veterans, Opiates, Returning Home to Battle
Action on the VA’s pain pill habit
On our debut pilot, reporter Aaron Glantz uncovered how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been prescribing highly addictive pain medications at an alarming rate. He returns to the show to discuss how lawmakers might address the spike in opiate prescriptions.