BY
NORMAN J CLEMENT RPH., DDS, NORMAN L.CLEMENT PHARM-TECH, MALACHI F. MACKANDAL PHARMD, BELINDA BROWN-PARKER, IN THE SPIRIT OF JOSEPH SOLVO ESQ., IN THE SPIRIT OF REV. C.T. VIVIAN, JELANI ZIMBABWE CLEMENT, BS., MBA., IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HON. PATRICE LUMUMBA, IN THE SPIRIT OF ERLIN CLEMENT SR., WALTER F. WRENN III., MD., JULIE KILLINGWORTH, WILLIE GUINYARD BS., JOSEPH WEBSTER MD., MBA, BEVERLY C. PRINCE MD., FACS., RICHARD KAUL, MD., LEROY BAYLOR, JAY K. JOSHI MD., MBA, ADRIENNE EDMUNDSON, ESTER HYATT PH.D., WALTER L. SMITH BS., IN THE SPIRIT OF BRAHM FISHER ESQ., MICHELE ALEXANDER MD., CUDJOE WILDING BS, MARTIN NDJOU, BS., RPH., IN THE SPIRIT OF DEBRA LYNN SHEPHERD, BERES E. MUSCHETT, STRATEGIC ADVISORS
KATHERINE HAYHOE, A CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENTIST:
“THE WORLD HAS ALWAYS CHANGED WHEN ORDINARY PEOPLE OF NO PARTICULAR POWER OR REPUTE SPOKE OUT “
November 1, 2021, I was on the phone with Michael Jones MD., when he asked me to hold on, then suddenly I heard a voice asking him for his date of birth. Then the voice succinctly stated, “you have been assigned to my facility, do you have anything in your coat or pocket?”
Mike asks, “what facility do you represent and I have my stuff in my bag can I call my wife so she can pick it up I don’t want any of my belongings missing.” I could hear also in the background the voice saying something along with the sound of handcuff chains and then the phone went silent.
It clearly appeared Michael B. Jones MD., a Cardiologist was being detained to serve out the rest of his unjust sentence of 36 months for healthcare fraud or for what we call it “Practicing Medicine While Black.”
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE CARDIOLOGY 25+ YEARS EXPERIENCE FacebookTwitterLinkedin
Dr. Michael B Jones, MD specializes in cardiovascular disease cardiology in New Orleans, LA, and has over 25 years of experience in the field of medicine. He graduated from Medical College Of Georgia with his medical degree in 1996.
He is affiliated with numerous hospitals in Louisiana and more, including Touro Infirmary. Dr. Michael B Jones is licensed to practice by the state board in Louisiana (13825R). He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and the National Medical Association.
Dr. Michael B Jones also practices at 3405 Saint Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA. He is accepting new patients at his medical office and is available for appointments, preventative care, medical care as well as ongoing patient care.
Warning to Physicians, Dentist Pharmacists Don’t Take Medicare To hell with caring, for the poor !!!!
BACKGROUND
April 21, 2020, from the Lens “An Open Letter to Michael Jones, MD the article reads:
Attention Inmate #34222034 at the Federal Prison Camp Pensacola: We at Justice and Beyond are demanding your immediate release!
Dr. Jones, 50, who is Black, is serving a three-year sentence for health care fraud. He is a board-certified cardiologist, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and an award winner for America’s Top Cardiologist for 2010 and 2016. He is a New Orleans native who met his wife of 14 years here.
Dr. Jones, you are hardly a number to us. You are our beloved friend and partner as a Pillar of our organizing coalition, Justice and Beyond (J&B).
Pat Bryant, the co-founder of J&B, describes Michael Jones, as “an unusual person with a keen sense of humanity. Beyond the requirements of his Hippocratic Oath, he works on the community’s problems to make humanity better. There is a fire burning inside of him. He has a let’s-get-it-done-now personality.”
Dr. Jones awards a $5,000 scholarship annually to a deserving student, who will attend an accredited college in Louisiana, will remain in Louisiana after graduation, and has shown a commitment to community service.
Sylvia McKenzie, co-moderator of J&B, says of Dr. Jones, “An awesome guy. He is lovable and willing to school us and teach us about the medical system, the miseducation, and misinformation about drugs, about billing, and about the best treatment. He is very knowledgeable. Whatever we can do to get him out, we will do it.”
September 25, 2018, from the Department of JusticeU.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Louisiana the article reads:
Six Individuals Sentenced in Case Charging Health Care Fraud and Kickback Conspiracies and Obstruction
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced today the sentencing of four local physicians, a biller, and office manager following a four-week trial that ended on May 9, 2017.
A jury convicted four New Orleans doctors and two others on Tuesday (May 9) in federal court for participating in a Medicare fraud scheme prosecutors say netted more than $13.6 million in fraudulent Medicare reimbursements. Tuesday’s guilty verdicts came after a month-long trial, a press release from Acting U.S. Attorney Duane Evans’s Office says. Found guilty were Dr. Henry Evans, 71; Dr. Michael Jones, 47, and his wife Paula Jones, 45; Dr. Shelton Barnes, 62; Dr. Gregory Molden, 60, all of New Orleans; and Jonathon Nora, 29, of River Ridge.
U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced SHELTON BARNES, age 64, to sixty (60) months imprisonment, followed by one (1) year of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $10,850,229 to be paid to Medicare.
Judge Morgan sentenced HENRY EVANS, age 74, to fifty (50) months imprisonment, followed by one (1) year of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $1,262,043 to be paid to Medicare.
Judge Morgan sentenced GREGORY MOLDEN, age 62, to forty-eight (48) months imprisonment, followed by one (1) year of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $626,405 to be paid to Medicare.
Judge Morgan sentenced MICHAEL JONES, age 49, to thirty-six (36) months imprisonment, followed by two (2) years of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $347,525 to be paid to Medicare.
Judge Morgan sentenced PAULA JONES, age 45, to one year and one-day imprisonment, followed by three (3) years of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $3,106,954 to be paid to Medicare. Upon her release from imprisonment, PAULA JONES was ordered to serve a term of home detention for a period of 24 months.
Judge Morgan sentenced JONATHON NORA, age 31, to forty (40) months imprisonment, followed by one (1) year of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $12,921,797 to be paid to Medicare.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrice Harris Sullivan, Sharan Lieberman, Maria Carboni, and Andre Lagarde prosecuted the case.
“Now tell that to people of New Orleans left without doctors who will no longer take medicare”
Continue-From The Lens April 2021April 21, 2020, from the Lens “An Open Letter to Michael Jones, MD the article reads:
Pastor Gregory Manning, also co-moderator of J&B, stresses that Dr. Jones has been an active part of the Coalition Against Death Ally and the environmental fight in the River Parishes. “He has been an advocate for low-income people to have health care. He is educating people on how to live healthier lives.”
On March 29 Dr. Jones wrote to U.S. Attorney General William Barr to ask for home confinement on the grounds that he meets all six of Mr. Barr’s requirements for conditional release during the pandemic. He wrote, “Our exposure is likely since nearly 250 of the inmates here go outside of the camp to work details in high infection risk areas every day. These inmates work among international travelers at military bases, and at high infection risk sites like laundries that handle hospital and hotel linens. These inmates travel to their work sites 20 plus men per bus for over an hour.”
Dr. Jones goes on to say, “The inmates in this camp cannot by virtue of our living and eating arrangements practice social distancing and the staff constantly violate the guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control.”
On April 7 Dr. Jones suffered a heart attack in his prison cell:
On April 16 — the day when CNN reported that Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, would be released early from his three-year prison term — the Bureau of Prisons online tracking system found 473 inmates and 279 staff members who have tested positive for the virus and 18 inmates who have died. The system reported 1,198 federal inmates have been placed on home confinement. There are more than 143,000 prisoners at federal facilities across the country.
Reverend Richard Bell, Board member of A Community Voice and a Pillar of J&B, asked, “What is the difference between Michael Cohen’s Corona-related release from prison and Dr. Michael Jones? Cohen is white and super-privileged, with no pre-existing conditions. Dr. Jones is an African American, has serious hypertension, and just suffered a heart attack. Dr. Jones has more of a right than Michael Cohen to be released from prison under all circumstances. Will the scales of justice tilt in the favor of someone who actually worked for the community, as it has for someone who has worked against it? The answer will also be written in black and white.”
In his letter to Mr. Barr, Dr. Jones wrote, “If I am allowed early release, I will volunteer my services to assist in my community or any place the government would choose to deploy me to assist in our country’s recovery from the COVID 19 Pandemic.”
Michael B. Jones, MD Cardiologist
Dr. Jones’ wife, who is working three days a week is trying her best to provide a peaceful home for their three children, sheltering them as best she can from the unfolding family trauma. She is focused on their routines, their well-being, their counseling, and their education.
Dr. Jones told Mr. Barr, “My 3 children are stressed and frightened because they are separated from me and worse now, they have to deal with the Coronavirus Pandemic without my guidance.
My parents are senior citizens and both have chronic medical conditions. They need my assistance and care also. I ask that you consider my nonviolent status, my family’s best interest, and the help that I can provide the country as a Cardiologist during this pandemic, and grant me early release with home confinement.”
His wife, a paragon of courage and fortitude, says that slowly but surely things are working out.
Justice and Beyond have sent a letter to Senator Cassidy asking that he be released. Otherwise, Dr. Jones could die in prison. You can add your name to the letter contact Senator Cassidy directly at 3421 N. Causeway Blvd. Metairie, 70002.
Even in prison at this terrifying time, Dr. Jones is thinking more of others than himself. Thank you for your inspiration and example, Dr. Jones. And we love you.
Orissa Arend is a Pillar of Justice and Beyond.
The Opinion section is a community forum. Views expressed are not necessarily those of The Lens or its staff. To propose an idea for a column, contact Engagement Editor Tom Wright at twright@thelensnola.org.
CONGRESS: CLEAN UP THIS MESS
THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATION. 1990
“WHAT THEY FOUND ACROSS THE BOARD THE WAR ON DRUGS WAS HAVING A DISPROPORTION IMPACT ON BLACK PEOPLE”
https://www.c-span.org/video/?14263-1/jails-prisons-drugs
It is past time for Congress to correct the mess they have made of the regulation of opioid pain relievers. Here is contact information for your Senators, Representatives, and governor’ offices. Call them and demand that they:
- familiarize themselves with the problems they have created by reading this article in STAT news.
- begin work on legislation to force the repeal of the CDC Guidelines
- reign in regulators and drug enforcement authorities from their senseless and unfounded persecution of doctors.
FOR NOW, YOU ARE WITHIN
THE NORMS
This is EXACTLY what happened to my pain mgmt physician! And yes, he is also black!