BY RAUL HERNANDEZ
This documentary on Youtube is worth watching:
“In the heart of Russia, in a forest larger than Germany, where winter temperatures drop to -40 degrees, 7 hours from the nearest city, lies a prison like no other. Home to 260 men, responsible for nearly 800 murders, Penal Colony 56 is unique: a prison exclusively for killers,” according to the documentary.
MILLENNIUM HEALTH of SAN DIEGO PAYS BIG BUCKS FOR URINE SAMPLES
One of the largest urine, drug-testing laboratories in the nation got caught providing medically unnecessary urine drug and genetic testing.
Now, Millennium Health, formerly Millennium Laboratories, will pay $256 million for doing so and violating the law, the federal government announced last week.
Also Millennium gave free goodies to doctors who agreed to refer expensive laboratory testing business to Millennium.
The company is headquartered in San Diego.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that laboratory tests, including drug and genetic tests, are ordered based on each patient’s medical needs and not just to increase physician and laboratory profits,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will not tolerate practices such as the ordering of excessive, non-patient specific tests and the provision of inducements to physicians that lead to unnecessary costs being imposed upon our nation’s health care programs.”
The federal government also alleged that Millennium’s provision of free point of care urine drug test cups to physicians—expressly conditioned on the physicians’ agreement to return the urine specimens to Millennium for hundreds of dollars’ worth of additional testing—violated the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
As part of today’s announced settlements, Millennium has agreed to pay $227 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations, detailed in a complaint filed by the federal government.
Millennium systematically billed federal health care programs for excessive and unnecessary urine drug testing from Jan. 1, 2008, through May 20, 2015.
The federal government alleged that Millennium caused physicians to order excessive numbers of urine drug tests, in part through the promotion of “custom profiles,” which, instead of being tailored to individual patients, were in effect standing orders that caused physicians to order large number of tests.
This was done without an individualized assessment of each patient’s needs.
This practice violated federal healthcare program rules limiting payment to services that are reasonable and medically necessary for the treatment and diagnosis of an individual patient’s illness or injury, according to officials.
The Real Winners in Millennium’s Pay for Pee Scam
The Whistleblowers who brought lawsuits against Millennium for this practice were the real winners.
The whistleblowers will receive $30.3 million from the False Claims Act recovery for the urine drug testing claims and $1.48 million from the False Claims Act recovery for the genetic testing claims.
The False Claims Act allows private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery.
Under the act, the federal government can elect to intervene in an action filed by a whistleblower, as it did, in part in the Millennium lawsuit.
El Chapo on the Run
I believe El Chapo will be captured in Mexico and extradited to the United States. He will be tried and sent to the supermax federal prison in Colorado.
A big reason why the Mexican government is not anxious to extradite El Chapo to the U.S. is because he knows many state secrets: Who is on the take in Mexico and U.S. Who is being paid on both sides of the border. How money is being laundered. Where are the drug smuggling pipelines?
In the United States, El Chapo will no longer be under the control of Mexican officials
In the U.S. and in a deep bunker-like cell for the rest of his life, El Chapo will be willing to name names and shed a lot of light on the corruption south of the border in exchange for a few creature comforts at supermax.
I bet billionaire El Chapo will swap cartel secrets for such things as candy bars, a hookup to the Telenovelas, extra hours on the yard or more reading material.
Last month, Mexico Extradited 13 defendants, including alleged high-level cartel members to the United States to stand trial for charges including the murders of a U.S. Consulate employee and two others, and other violent crimes and drug trafficking-related offenses.
So extradition of cartel bosses to the United States seems to be picking up.
The story was posted on American Justice Notebook.
El Chapo is considered the chairman of the Drug Smuggling Board and has, in many parts of Mexico, been relegated to folk-hero status because of how he has shafted the gringos and eluded authorities. There are several corridos (ballads) in Mexico touting the exploits of El Chapo.
Never mind that Chapo and many other cartel criminals have been responsible for drug-related barbarism that rivals that of ISIS.
This ballad was posted on YouTube after Chapo’s escape:
Many Mexicans in political power and high places are very concerned what El Chapo will tell the DEA if he ends up at the federal supermax prison.
A third escape by Chapo, which, I believe, will come by helicopter next time, would be an embarrassment to the Mexican government. It will signal to the rest of the world that the cartels really own Mexico and that corruption is rampant and out of control South of the Border.
What’s it like in supermax? Check it out: ADX Florence
Headlines in the Lone Star State
Texas Says Planned Parenthood Will No Longer Receive State Medicaid Funds
A letter from the state cited the controversial Planned Parenthood sting videos.
Seriously, the State of Texas, or large parts of the Lone Star State, should be designated a national theme park, and it’s Governor delegated to the duty of handing out shopping carts at the entrance of this political amusement park featuring the likes of Ted Cruz, Louie Gohmert, Blake Farenthold, Rick Perry…etc.etc.etc.
This was the headlines on a press release from Abbott’s Office in April: Governor Abbott Directs Texas State Guard To Monitor Operation Jade Helm 15
That decision led to Texas being the laughing stock of the rest of the country
In regards to Planned Parenthood and the politics in Texas, the Houston Post summed it out best:
“But in the war against abortion, fighting Planned Parenthood is easier than actually reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. So instead of better sex education or broader access to birth control, Texas will get another lawsuit. That won’t do much to help everyday Texans, but politicians will be able to count it as a win. If only they could share the spoils of victory with a young woman who can’t afford basic health care.”
Houston Post Editorial (Oct. 19, 2015)
Get the facts about Planned Parenthood: Click Here: FACTCHECK.ORG