Medicare Fraud

Feds Accuse Texas Doctor Of Largest Medicare Fraud In US History

Nick R. Martin | February 28, 2012, 1:39PM

A Texas doctor was accused Tuesday in the largest Medicare fraud case in US history, with federal prosecutors charging him with scamming the government with $375 million in phony billings.

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Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan's $700-Wine-Sipping Buddies: Hedge Fund Manager And University Of Chicago Economist

Susan Crabtree | July 9, 2011, 5:24PM

It didn't take long for TPM readers to identify the two likeminded conservatives with whom Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) shared two pricey $350 bottles of Pinot Noir Wednesday night.

The two names repeatedly flooded into TPM's e-mail since our story on Ryan's big spending night first ran Friday, and we spent the next 24 hours trying to reach the pair to confirm their identities and get their side of the story.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Hey Big Spenders: What Else Could Wealthy Candidates Buy With All That Campaign Cash?]

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Textbooks

TX Textbooks Proposal: Students Must Discuss Gutting Social Security, Explain How U.N. Undermines U.S.

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 9:00AM

Don McLeroy

With the long-running Texas history textbooks standards fight scheduled to end with a final vote by the State Board of Education Friday, arch-conservative board member Don McLeroy is proposing a new set of changes that read like a tea party manifesto.

The new amendment (.pdf), which is expected to get a vote on Thursday, would require high school history students to "discuss alternatives regarding long term entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, given the decreasing worker to retiree ratio" and also "evaluate efforts by global organizations to undermine U. S. sovereignty."

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John Kasich

Stanford Lobbyist, Bush Admin. Medicare Bamboozler Host Kasich Fundraiser

Zachary Roth | April 21, 2010, 3:29PM

Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich, Alston & Bird attorney Tom Scully (left inset), and Ripon Society President Jim Conzelman (right inset)

Two of the hosts of a fundraiser for Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich have some interesting items on their resumes: One was a senior executive and top lobbyist for alleged Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford, while another is a former Bush administration official who threatened to fire a subordinate if he revealed to Congress the true cost of a major bill.

This afternoon, Washington's tony Capitol Hill Club was the scene of a fundraiser for Kasich, the former Ohio congressman who is the presumptive Republican nominee to take on the incumbent Democratic governor, Ted Strickland, this fall. According to an invitation obtained by TPMmuckraker, the 15-person host committee includes Jim Conzelman and Tom Scully.

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Medicare

Connecticut Insurance Dept. Launches Investigation Of Misleading Medicare Mailer

Justin Elliott | September 30, 2009, 4:55PM

Medicare Mailer from Target Leads

The Connecticut Insurance Department has begun an investigation into that Medicare mailer we told you about yesterday that tries to scare seniors into buying extra insurance by claiming that Congress has cut benefits -- right when the health care debate is dominating the news.

A copy of the mailer that went to a senior in Washington was sent by a direct mail firm, but listed an insurance agent, Tim Manry, who is apparently the Seattle branch manager for CT-based Futurity First.

Dawn McDaniel, spokeswoman for the Connecticut Insurance Department, which is responsible for regulating the insurance industry, sends along this statement:

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Medicare

Are Insurers Exploiting Health Care Debate To Mislead Seniors And Drum Up Business?

Justin Elliott | September 29, 2009, 4:00PM

Image From Lenetstan / Shutterstock

A mailer being sent by health insurers to seniors, and obtained by TPMmuckraker, seeks to exploit fears about Congressional changes to the health care system to sell supplemental insurance. And it contains false claims about "new" reductions in Medicare benefits imposed by Congress.

Yesterday, 66-year-old Donna Price of Battle Ground, Washington, received this official-looking mailer in a pull-apart envelope from direct mail firm Target Leads (aka TL Service Center).

It announces: "IMPORTANT: NEW MEDICARE CHANGES." And continues:

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