Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’
Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.
Six Years Into an Appalachia Hospital Monopoly, Patients Are Fearful and Furious
Ballad Health, with the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation, has failed for years to meet many quality-of-care goals, leaving some patients afraid of their local hospitals but with no other nearby options.
Dentists Are Pulling ‘Healthy’ and Treatable Teeth To Profit From Implants, Experts Warn
Americans are getting dental implants more than ever — and at costs reaching tens of thousands of dollars. Experts worry some dentists have lost sight of the soul of dentistry: preserving and fixing teeth.
Tennessee Tries To Rein In Ballad’s Hospital Monopoly After Years of Problems
Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system with the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly, serves patients in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
Tennessee Agrees To Remove Sex Workers With HIV From Sex Offender Registry
For years, Tennessee has required anyone convicted of prostitution while HIV-positive to register as a sex offender for life. In response to DOJ and ACLU discrimination suits, the state has agreed to reverse course.
‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt
Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders. The high cost and poor insurance coverage of TMJ care can bury patients in debt even as the treatments do more harm than good.
Fake Therapist Fooled Hundreds Online Until She Died, State Records Say
A Florida woman with no training in mental health services pretended to be a licensed social worker during online therapy sessions with Brightside Health patients.
Falsa terapeuta engañó a cientos de pacientes en Internet, y solo se supo porque murió
Cientos de estadounidenses pueden haber recibido terapia, sin saberlo, de una impostora sin formación que se hizo pasar por terapeuta en sesiones por internet, posiblemente durante dos años. El engaño sólo se descubrió cuando murió, según registros de departamentos de salud estatales.
Tennessee Gives This Hospital Monopoly an A Grade — Even When It Reports Failure
Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system in Tennessee and Virginia, benefits from the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the United States and is the only option for hospital care for a large swath of Appalachia.
Medics at UCLA Protest Say Police Weapons Drew Blood and Cracked Bones
In contrast to police statements, volunteer medics said they treated serious wounds as UCLA’s pro-Palestinian protest was besieged by police and counterprotesters, including some injuries that appeared to be caused by “less lethal” projectiles fired by cops.