- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-06/prostate-patients-suffer-as-money-overwhelms-optimal-therapy.html
- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-19/silicon-valley-surgeons-risk-moral-authority-for-200-returns.html
- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-31/for-profit-nursing-homes-lead-in-overcharging-while-care-suffers.html
- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/hospices-dump-patients-while-escaping-multimillion-dollar-taxpayer-refunds.html
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
“Prostate Patients Suffer…” (11/6/12); Silicon Valley Surgeons Risk…” (7/19/12); “For Profits Lead in Overcharging…” (12/31/12); “Hospices Dump Patients…” (2/3/12)
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
1. A urology practice that owns its own radiation equipment in Salinas, California, exemplifies how treatment decisions for prostate cancer patients can influenced by money. 2. Some outpatient surgery-center entrepreneurs are accused of gouging insurers with “out-of-network” rates and sharing the profits with the very surgeons who bring in the patients. 3. How for-profit nursing homes allegedly milk the government for services patients don’t need and don’t receive, and have been facing more litigation saying they render dangerously inferior care. 4. By targeting patients who aren’t really dying, some for-profit hospice companies are overpaid by Medicare, then shut down without repaying the government, leaving patients bereft of care and taxpayers holding the bag.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Data from more than a dozen FOIA and public records requests were used to both frame and document Waldman’s work in 2012. In two examples, a FOIA response from HHS concerning bogus billing by nursing homes led to Waldman’s story on for-profit nursing facilities, while a public records request to South Carolina’s health department helped document his investigation of urologists’ self-referral practices.
Explain types of human sources used.
Waldman interviewed more than 60 doctors, patients and academic experts for each of his major stories in 2012.
Results:
Medicare overseers said they are reconsidering how to handle hospices that shut their doors after running up large repayment obligations to the government after Waldman’s story ran. The Medical Board of California is investigating the surgery centers he wrote about. National Public Radio’s “Here and Now,” the Monterey County Herald and the Salinas Californian followed Waldman’s story, and one reported that the FBI is investigating the same doctors in the wake of Waldman’s article. Several members of Congress, including Senators Grassley and Baucus, have announced their intention to close the loophole that allows doctors to refer patients for procedures at clinics they own.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections or amplifications for any of Waldman’s work.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Submit FOIA and public records requests early and as often as possible on everything conceivable that might help frame and/or document a story. Reach out to a variety of physicians in a specific market to find doctors willing to shed light on unethical or illegal conduct by other physicians. The good doctors know; the challenge is getting them to tell.