republished from Kevin MD in youarewithinthenorms
NORMAN J CLEMENT RPH., DDS, NORMAN L. CLEMENT PHARM-TECH, MALACHI F. MACKANDAL PHARMD, BELINDA BROWN-PARKER, IN THE SPIRIT OF JOSEPH SOLVO ESQ., INC.T. SPIRIT OF REV. IN THE SPIRIT OF WALTER R. CLEMENT BS., MS, MBA. HARVEY JENKINS MD, PH.D., IN THE SPIRIT OF C.T. VIVIAN, JELANI ZIMBABWE CLEMENT, BS., MBA., IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HON. PATRICE LUMUMBA, IN THE SPIRIT OF ERLIN CLEMENT SR., EVELYN J. CLEMENT, WALTER F. WRENN III., MD., JULIE KILLINGSWORTH, RENEE BLARE, RPH, DR. TERENCE SASAKI, MD LESLY POMPY MD., CHRISTOPHER RUSSO, MD., NANCY SEEFELDT, WILLIE GUINYARD BS., JOSEPH WEBSTER MD., MBA, BEVERLY C. PRINCE MD., FACS., NEIL ARNAND, MD., RICHARD KAUL, MD., IN THE SPIRIT OF LEROY BAYLOR, JAY K. JOSHI MD., MBA, AISHA GARDNER, ADRIENNE EDMUNDSON, ESTER HYATT PH.D., WALTER L. SMITH BS., IN THE SPIRIT OF BRAHM FISHER ESQ., MICHELE ALEXANDER MD., CUDJOE WILDING BS, MARTIN NJOKU, BS., RPH., IN THE SPIRIT OF DEBRA LYNN SHEPHERD, BERES E. MUSCHETT, STRATEGIC ADVISORS
prosecutors seeking to pad their careers without regard for justice
“An overzealous prosecutor will use the expired fire extinguisher as a violation of the physician’s terms of Medicare participation. Every service provided to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary by the physician and his practice and submitted for reimbursement is fraudulent under health care fraud regulations (18 U.S.C. §1347).
“prosecutors can easily succumb to the temptation of first ‘picking the man and then searching the law books, or putting investigators to work, to pin some offense on him.’”
Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson
The physician could spend ten years in federal prison for each service provided, while the fire extinguisher has an expired inspection tag. If you don’t believe this scenario, please view records of presentations by Department of Justice attorneys promising to employ and charge stack to trap and imprison physicians.
Overzealous prosecutors seeking to pad their careers, without regard for justice, can charge a physician not with health care fraud only but can bring charges for wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
The sole purpose of these prosecutions is to create seizures and restitutions that would fund investigative agencies.
All these charges stem from the proceeds of clinical care provided by exemplary physicians who are targeted due to their minority status and are perceived as easy targets who will not resist unjust prosecutions.
Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson indicated almost seventy years ago that “prosecutors can easily succumb to the temptation of first ‘picking the man and then searching the law books, or putting investigators to work, to pin some offense on him.’”
The United States Department of Justice is relentless in its effort to prosecute physicians unjustly.
In 1996, a tumultuous and unfortunate set of laws and regulations afflicted the medical community of physicians.
This was the 1996 Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Buried in the bowels of the HIPAA regulation text was a rotten compilation of laws, including the health care fraud regulations (18 U.S.C. §1347). Since then, physician prosecutions have continued unabated, averaging several hundred yearly.
The sole purpose of these prosecutions is to create seizures and restitutions that would fund investigative agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.
The prosecution of Dr. Richard Paulus was the epitome of injustice.
It demonstrated the imperfection in the concepts of righteousness promoted by the United States Department of Justice in this republic.
This prosecution persisted for more than a decade, during which prosecutors with the stench of mendacity buried evidence exonerating Dr. Richard Paulus, with whom they disagreed on the percentage of coronary artery stenosis and stent placement.
Prosecutors presented a small fraction of his cases as evidence of healthcare fraud (close to 70 cases) while hiding that these cases were only a small fraction of a larger sample of close to 1,100 cases where he performed admirably and conscientiously.
After imprisoning Dr. Paulus needlessly for close to a year and two jury trials, the United States Department of Justice raised the white flag and agreed to dismiss all charges against Dr. Paulus in 2024.
Physicians on the receiving end MUST strive for experienced legal representation by a criminal defense attorney specializing in healthcare.
Physicians on the receiving end of unfounded and often fabricated accusations and allegations by the Justice Department should strive for experienced legal representation by a criminal defense attorney specializing in health care. The effect of juries is needed to check on prosecutorial power.
“The Framers believed in juries,” Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch noted in an interview with New York Times columnist David French. “I mean, there it is in Article III.
There it is in the Sixth Amendment.
There it is in the Seventh Amendment. They believed injuries, and we’ve lost that.” As a result of such pressure, Gorsuch notes, about 97 percent of federal felony convictions and 94 percent of state felony convictions are based on plea agreements.
Trial by jury, which the Framers viewed as an essential bulwark against tyranny, plays a marginal role in our current criminal justice system. In the current environment, juries are more likely to view physicians positively in healthcare fraud trials.”
Muhamad Aly Rifai is a practicing internist and psychiatrist in the Greater Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. He is the CEO, chief psychiatrist, and internist of Blue Mountain Psychiatry. He holds the Lehigh Valley Endowed Chair of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Rifai is board-certified in internal medicine, psychiatry, addiction medicine, and psychosomatic medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, and the American Psychiatric Association. He is the former president of the Lehigh Valley Psychiatric Society.
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