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Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse

Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse.

The FBI And Defense Department Are Investigating America’s Biggest Psychiatric Hospital Chain

America’s largest chain of psychiatric hospitals is the target of a multi-agency federal investigation into whether it systematically holds patients longer than necessary to maximize revenues — an allegation two nurses at one of its facilities raised following a protest at its headquarters in Pennsylvania last week.

According to three sources with direct knowledge of the investigation, officials are examining whether Universal Health Services directs its hospitals to hold patients for as many days as their insurer agrees to pay for, regardless of actual medical need. The probe has been ongoing since at least 2013, when the Department of Health and Human Services issued subpoenas to 10 UHS psychiatric hospitals.

But BuzzFeed News has exclusively learned that the investigation has since broadened to include the FBI and the Department of Defense, which is scrutinizing UHS’s billings to Tricare, the insurance plan for active military and their families. UHS, a $12 billion company, made nearly one-third of its revenues last year from government insurance providers such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Read more at buzzfeed.com

It’s not just Americans who need to worry about health-care costs: Pape

Last week, I spent four days in hospital for a surgical procedure (don’t worry, nothing life-threatening). When I was discharged, I was presented with a bill for $1,055. That covered semi-private accommodation (the hospital had no facilities that qualified as “wards”) and some recommended post-op massage therapy. None of the expenses were covered by OHIP.

I have a family member who suffers from a rare and debilitating disease. His specialists have prescribed a very rare drug, which costs about $3,000 a month. It is not covered by OHIP.

A friend of mine has a very serious eye condition. He requires monthly shots just to maintain the limited vision he has left, at a cost of $1,500. Since he is under age 65, he has to pay for these out of his own pocket. OHIP doesn’t cover it.

read more at thestar.com

Hawaii joins call for increasing authority in Medicaid fraud investigations

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin has joined the attorneys general of 37 states and the District of Columbia to widen their authority in the investigation of Medicaid fraud.

The National Association of Attorneys General is urging the federal government to change its policy, so state attorneys general can use federal funds to investigate and prosecute a wider range of Medicaid abuse and neglect cases. The letter was sent to Tom Price, secretary of health and human services.

read more at bizjournals.com

U.S. Health Care Has A Pretty Sweeping Definition Of ‘Pre-Existing Condition’

Yesterday in the U.S., the Republicans passed a vote in the House to repeal and replace the the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

Though the bill still has to be passed into law (and there’s some doubt about that happening), it has plenty of Americans worried about their health care coverage — more, in fact, than might be assumed upon first glance.

According to Money magazine, under the AHCA, insurance companies will be able to charge people with pre-existing conditions more for their health insurance, an act currently banned by the ACA.

read more at huffingtonpost.ca

Lawsuit says Wells Fargo targeted the undocumented

On “Hit the Streets Thursday,” Wells Fargo bankers and tellers, specifically those of Latino descent, scouted the streets and Social Security offices for potential clients. Their goal: Find undocumented immigrants, take them to a local branch and persuade them to open bank accounts.

Others hit construction sites and factories, according to court documents. Knowing that undocumented workers there needed a place to cash their checks, Wells Fargo employees urged them to open new accounts while promising to waive check-cashing fees. Some offered the immigrants money to open an account.

The more people signed up, whether it was for checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, online banking or overdraft protection, the better. If they signed up for all of the features, even better. Each new account was considered a sale, and the more sales employees rack up, the better their future was with the company.

That’s according to former employees’ sworn statements obtained last month by a law firm that has been handling a shareholder’s lawsuit against Wells Fargo. Former bank managers, personal bankers and tellers say they were forced to resort to questionable tactics to meet the company’s unrealistic sales quotas.

Mark Molumphy, an attorney for the firm, said the sales practices, which spanned 15 years, were not a secret to the bank’s executives and should have also been known to its board members.

read more at theledger.com

Bill Morneau Says Border Tax Could Hurt U.S. More Than Canada

OTTAWA — Canada’s finance minister is warning business leaders in New York that a proposed U.S. border tax threatens to make both countries poorer — and might even hurt Americans more.

In an appearance Monday at a World Economic Forum event, Bill Morneau cautioned that a tariff-like tax would hurt families on both sides of the frontier by disrupting a mutually beneficial trading relationship and imposing extra costs on U.S. firms.

Morneau’s stronger public stance against the border tax comes after Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr noted last week that the policy faces huge opposition in Washington.

read more at huffingtonpost.ca

When Evidence Says No, but Doctors Say Yes 

First, listen to the story with the happy ending: At 61, the executive was in excellent health. His blood pressure was a bit high, but everything else looked good, and he exercised regularly. Then he had a scare. He went for a brisk post-lunch walk on a cool winter day, and his chest began to hurt. Back inside his office, he sat down, and the pain disappeared as quickly as it had come. That night, he thought more about it: middle-aged man, high blood pressure, stressful job, chest discomfort. The next day, h

Source: When Evidence Says No, but Doctors Say Yes – The Atlantic

Trump’s Travel Ban Is Keeping Sick Kids From Medical Care, So Canada Is Stepping In 

After multiple reports that President Trump’s ban on travel into the US from seven Muslim-majority countries was keeping children in need of surgeries and other critical medical treatment from getting to hospitals, Ontario’s health minister said Friday he would get them care in Canada.

Stories have emerged from around the country of families who had sought treatment for their children at US hospitals, only to be blocked by President Trump’s executive order. More than three dozen patients — critically ill children and adults — scheduled for treatment have been blocked from traveling, STAT News reported.

Source: Trump’s Travel Ban Is Keeping Sick Kids From Medical Care, So Canada Is Stepping In – BuzzFeed News

Trump team says border tax plan for imported vehicles includes Canada

The incoming Trump administration has uttered the word Canadian auto industry executives have been dreading, saying a tax on vehicles imported into the United States could be applied to Canada.

A border tax will apply “when a company that’s in the U.S. moves to a place, whether it’s Canada or Mexico or any other country seeking to put U.S. workers at a disadvantage,” Sean Spicer, a spokesman for president-elect Donald Trump, said during a conference call with reporters Friday, Bloomberg News reported.

Source: Trump team says border tax plan for imported vehicles includes Canada – The Globe and Mail