The California State Auditor’s office discovered $94 million in potentially fraudulent payments and more than 300 services approved for dead people in a searing review of the state’s drug rehabilitation program for the poor.
Health Care Scams
Waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S. health care system
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California doctors used fake hardware in spine surgeries, lawsuits say
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.
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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.
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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.
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Medi-Cal agency to overhaul drug rehab program after critical audit
California’s Medi-Cal agency is launching an overhaul of its drug rehabilitation program in light of a damning internal audit that spotlights ham-handed oversight and confirms many findings of a yearlong investigation by The Center for Investigative Reporting and CNN. The Department of Health Care Services pledged a multitude of changes in a report to the […]
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Governor’s budget proposes funding to improve Drug Medi-Cal oversight
Gov. Jerry Brown, seen in 2013.Beck Diefenbach/Associated Press Gov. Jerry Brown wants to add some firepower to the crackdown on fraud in California’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for the poor. The governor’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, officially announced today, includes $2.2 million for 21 new positions to help health officials with […]
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Calif. rehab clinics recruit group home residents to pad client lists
Los Angeles-area clinics bus in group home residents to fill client lists, regardless of whether they have addictions.
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As rehab operators fight to reopen clinics, criminal pasts come to light
Steven Proshak was naked and furious when police arrived at his North Hollywood home. His girlfriend, who had called 911 for help, was slumped on the floor. Proshak yelled expletives at the officers. He told them to get “out of my house” and made obscene threats, court records say. A Los Angeles jury convicted Proshak […]
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Rehab clinics cut off for questionable billing still reaped federal funds
The offices of Goretti Health Services were in this building in Lawndale, Calif. The drug rehabilitation clinic’s Drug Medi-Cal contract was canceled in 2008, but it kept itself afloat with a second taxpayer-funded program, receiving 0,000 in federal Access to Recovery grants.Richard Hartog/For The Center for Investigative Reporting Days after a Los Angeles County inspector […]