Physicians Plead Guilty In Prescription Scheme Involving San Diego Marines
Carl Lindblad and Susan Vergot, who worked for Choice MD in Cleveland, Tenn., admitted to writing the prescriptions despite never examining the patients in person, and then sending the prescriptions to a pharmacy, which would bill TRICARE health insurance an exorbitant amount of money for the specialized medicine.
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Two Doctors Plead Guilty In $65 Million Prescription Fraud Involving San Diego Marines
Two physicians in Tennessee pleaded guilty Wednesday in San Diego federal court, admitting to their role in prescribing expensive and unnecessary medications as part of a $65 million fraud against the military’s healthcare system. Carl Lindblad and Susan Vergot, who worked for Choice MD in Cleveland, Tenn., wrote 4,442 total prescriptions in the span of a year and a half as part of the scheme, according to the investigation. According to prosecutors, military members in San Diego were paid to recruit Marines and their family members to participate in a fake medical study, which included speaking to a doctor in a telemedicine session and being prescribed compound medication. (Davis, 4/12)
In other news —
Long Beach Press-Telegram:
New Testimony Collected On Community Medical Center Long Beach’s Problems And Potential Future
Negative consequences following pending closure of Community Medical Center Long Beach would likely affect people living in East Long Beach and nearby Seal Beach neighborhoods, according to a information presented to a Los Angeles County panel on Wednesday. The Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Commission, an advisory body, assembled Wednesday night to gather facts and opinions related to the looming shutdown of the East Long Beach hospital. (Edwards, 4/12)