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From: Dan Fleming on 27 Jan 2010 15:05
PsychRights whistleblower lawsuit against psychiatrists unsealed:
Defendents listed

January 26, 11:22 AMHuman Rights ExaminerDeborah Dupre'

http://www.examiner.com/x-10438-Human-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d26-Major-Medicaid-fraud-lawsuit-by-PsychRights-against-psychiatrists-unsealed

Attorney Jim Gottstein, PsychRights Director

A major Medicaid Fraud lawsuit by Law Project for Psychiatric Rights
(PsychRights�) against psychiatrists, their employers, pharmacies,
state officials, and a medical education-publishing company for their
roles in fraudulent claims to Medicaid to drug mainly disadvantaged
children and youth was unsealed, revealing a long list of defendants.

The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) is a non-profit,
tax exempt 501(c)(3) public interest law firm whose mission is to
mount a strategic legal campaign against horrors of forced
psychiatric drugging and electroshock in the U.S. akin to what
Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP mounted in the 40's and 50's on behalf
of African American civil rights.

The public mental health system is creating a huge class of chronic
mental patients through forcing them to take ineffective, yet
extremely harmful drugs according to PsychRights.

"The massive psychiatric drugging of America's children, particularly
poor, disadvantaged children & youth through Medicaid and in foster
care is an unfolding public health catastrophe of massive
proportions," states attorney Jim Gottstien, PsychRights director.

Defendants

The defendants in this case are:

* Osamu H. Matsutani, M.D.
* William Hogan, Commissioner Of the Alaska Department Of Health And
Social Services
* Tammy Sandoval, Director Of The Alaska Office Of Children's,
Services
* Steve McComb, Director Of The Alaska Division Of Juvenile Justice
* William Streur, Director Of The Alaska Division Of Health Care
Services
* Juneau Youth Services, Inc.
* Providence Health & Services,
* Elizabeth Baisi, M.D.
* Ruth Dukoff, M.D.
* Charter North Star Behavioral Health System
* Kerry Ozer, M.D.
* Claudia Phillips, M.D.
* Southcentral Foundation
* Sheila Clark, M.D.
* Hugh Starks, M.D.
* Lina Judith Bautista, M.D.
* Heidi F. Lopez-Coonjohn, M.D.
* Robert D. Schults, M.D.
* Mark H. Stauffer, M.D.
* Ronald A. Martino, M.D.
* Irvin Rothrock, M.D.
* Jan Kiele, M.D.
* Alternatives Community Mental Health Services, D/B/A Denali Family
Services
* Anchorage Community Mental Health Services
* Lucy Curtis, M.D.
* Fairbanks Psychiatric And Neurologic Clinic, Pc
* Peninsula Community Health Services Of Alaska, Inc.
* Bartlett Regional Hospital Foundation, Inc.
* Thomson Reuters (Healthcare), Inc.
* Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
* Safeway, Inc.
* Fred Meyer Stores, Inc.

Law Project for Psychiatric Rights v. Matsutani, et al., United States
District Court, District of Alaska, Case No. 3:09-cv-0080-TMB.

The lawsuit, filed on April 27, 2009 and required to be kept under
seal (secret) until now, is brought under the federal False Claims
Act, which authorizes private parties to bring fraud actions on behalf
of the Government.

These cases are also called "whistleblower suits" or "qui tam,"
actions, and those who file them are entitled to a share in the
recovery, if any.

Each offending prescription carries a minimum penalty of $5,500.

The Complaint walks through the lack of science supporting the
practice and the methods used by the pharmaceutical industry to induce
psychiatrists to improperly prescribe these drugs.

"Even though the drug companies have been using these methods to
induce psychiatrists to prescribe these drugs, it is the
psychiatrists' responsibility to base their decisions on the facts,
not drug company marketing," said Mr. Gottstein, continuing, "the
uncritical acceptance of pharmaceutical company hype represents a
massive betrayal of trust by the psychiatrists prescribing these drugs
to children and youth."

PsychRights has developed a streamlined model Qui Tam Complaint for
use around the country. (See, PsychRights Launches Campaign Against
Medicaid Fraud With Model Lawsuit, July 27, 2009)

The model Qui Tam Complaint is drafted for former foster youth to
bring the lawsuits and receive the whistleblower's share of the
recoverey, but anyone with knowledge of specific offending
prescriptions, such as parents and mental health workers, can bring
these suits.

Last fall, Mr. Gottstein gave talks at two national conferences, the
National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA), and
the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology
(ICSPP), where he presented how to bring and conduct these cases. Mr.
Gottstein is also giving a presentation in New York City, February
2nd, following oral argument in Lilly v. Gottstein.

Mr. Gottstein indicates a number of these cases are percolating around
the country. In one that is not as far along as some others, Ted
Chabasinski, a Berkeley, California, lawyer, is seeking a former
foster youth as a client to bring such a lawsuit in the Bay Area. Any
former foster youth in the Bay Area who was given psychiatric drugs
within the last 6 years can call Mr. Chabasinski at (510) 843-6372 to
talk to him about bringing such a case.

"Foster children are singled out for psychiatric drugging because they
and their foster parents have almost no legal protections and no way
they can refuse these damaging drugs," says Mr. Chabasinski, who as a
foster child, was electroshocked at the age of six as part of an
experiment involving hundreds of foster children.

While PsychRights and Mr. Chabasinski are not bringing these cases for
the money, such cases represent a tremendous financial opportunity for
attorneys to do well by doing good.

"These are about as open and shut as cases can get," said Mr.
Gottstein.

"It is Medicaid fraud to cause or submit prescriptions to Medicaid for
reimbursement if they are not for a medically accepted indication. End
of story."

PsychRights has developed a Medically Accepted Indications Chart
showing what is allowable for common psychiatric drugs. Every other
use of these drugs in children and youth and submitted to Medicaid is
fraudulent.
http://psychrights.org/Education/ModelQuiTam/PediatricPsychotropicMedicallyAcceptedIndications.pdf
PsychRights conservatively estimates that at least half of
psychotropic drug prescriptions to children and youth submitted to
Medicaid are not for medically accepted indications and therefore
fraudulent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other investigations have found that some screeners and doctors were
getting bounties from psychiatry hospitals and wards for directing
patients to them. The hospitals get paid one way or another--through
insurance, by the patient himself if not insured (and they charge the
uninsured much more), or by charity care paid by the government for
impoverished patients. The psychiatrists just approves whatever the
screener recommends since that's also in their own interest.
From: RGrannus on 28 Jan 2010 10:08
On Jan 27, 3:05 pm, Dan Fleming <dbflem...(a)invalidaol.com> wrote:
> PsychRights whistleblower lawsuit against psychiatrists unsealed:
> Defendents listed
>
> January 26, 11:22 AMHuman Rights ExaminerDeborah Dupre'
>
> http://www.examiner.com/x-10438-Human-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d26-Majo...
>
> Attorney Jim Gottstein, PsychRights Director
>
> A major Medicaid Fraud lawsuit by Law Project for Psychiatric Rights
> (PsychRights®) against psychiatrists, their employers, pharmacies,
> state officials, and a medical education-publishing company for their
> roles in fraudulent claims to Medicaid to drug mainly disadvantaged
> children and youth was unsealed, revealing a long list of defendants.
>
> The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) is a non-profit,
> tax exempt 501(c)(3) public interest law firm...
>
> The public mental health system is creating a huge class of chronic
> mental patients through forcing them to take ineffective, yet
> extremely harmful drugs according to PsychRights.
>
> "The massive psychiatric drugging of America's children, particularly
> poor, disadvantaged children & youth through Medicaid and in foster
> care is an unfolding public health catastrophe of massive
> proportions," states attorney Jim Gottstien, PsychRights director.
....
>
> Law Project for Psychiatric Rights v. Matsutani, et al., United States
> District Court, District of Alaska, Case No. 3:09-cv-0080-TMB.
>
> The lawsuit, filed on April 27, 2009 and required to be kept under
> seal (secret) until now, is brought under the federal False Claims
> Act, which authorizes private parties to bring fraud actions on behalf
> of the Government.
>
> These cases are also called "whistleblower suits" or "qui tam,"
> actions, and those who file them are entitled to a share in the
> recovery, if any.
....
>
> PsychRights has developed a streamlined model Qui Tam Complaint for
> use around the country. (See, PsychRights Launches Campaign Against
> Medicaid Fraud With Model Lawsuit, July 27, 2009)
>
> The model Qui Tam Complaint is drafted for former foster youth to
> bring the lawsuits and receive the whistleblower's share of the
> recoverey, but anyone with knowledge of specific offending
> prescriptions, such as parents and mental health workers, can bring
> these suits.
>
> Last fall, Mr. Gottstein gave talks at two national conferences, the
> National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA), and
> the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology
> (ICSPP), where he presented how to bring and conduct these cases. Mr.
> Gottstein is also giving a presentation in New York City, February
> 2nd, following oral argument in Lilly v. Gottstein.
....
> "Foster children are singled out for psychiatric drugging because they
> and their foster parents have almost no legal protections and no way
> they can refuse these damaging drugs," says Mr. Chabasinski, who as a
> foster child, was electroshocked at the age of six as part of an
> experiment involving hundreds of foster children.
>
> While PsychRights and Mr. Chabasinski are not bringing these cases for
> the money, such cases represent a tremendous financial opportunity for
> attorneys to do well by doing good.
>
> "These are about as open and shut as cases can get," said Mr.
> Gottstein.
>
> "It is Medicaid fraud to cause or submit prescriptions to Medicaid for
> reimbursement if they are not for a medically accepted indication. End
> of story."
>
> PsychRights has developed a Medically Accepted Indications Chart
> showing what is allowable for common psychiatric drugs....
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Other investigations have found that some screeners and doctors were
> getting bounties from psychiatry hospitals and wards for directing
> patients to them. The hospitals get paid one way or another--through
> insurance, by the patient himself if not insured (and they charge the
> uninsured much more), or by charity care paid by the government for
> impoverished patients. The psychiatrists just approves whatever the
> screener recommends since that's also in their own interest.

This happened to a family member of mine. He was being treated for
depression but went to a peer support group meeting at a local
community clinic. The head of the clinic talked him into going to a
local hospital, where he was involuntarily committed without even
being examined by a psychiatrist (they go by what "screeners"
report). It ended up costing him about $20,000, and he doesn't have
insurance..

"U.S. Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado held hearings
investigating the practices of psychiatric hospitals in the United
States. Her committee's summary: "Our investigation has found that
thousands of adolescents, children, and adults have been hospitalized
for psychiatric treatment they didn't need; that hospitals hire bounty
hunters to kidnap patients...that psychiatrists are being pressured by
the hospitals to increase profit; that hospitals 'infiltrate' schools
by paying kickbacks to school counselors who deliver students; that
bonuses are paid to hospital employees, including psychiatrists, for
keeping the hospital beds filled.

"The supposed experts responsible for these "diagnoses" are usually
biased in favor of commitment because of their personal economic
concerns or their affiliation with the psychiatric "hospital" or ward
where the "patient" is or will be confined. Psychiatric "hospitals",
like all businesses, need customers. In the case of psychiatric
"hospitals" [or wards], they need patients. They not only want
patients, they need them to stay in business. ..Keeping all those
psychiatric beds filled is critical, and administrators are
aggressively ensuring that they will be. Some facilities even resort
to paying employees and others bonuses of $500 to $1,000 per
referral. An administrator at a psychiatric "hospital" told me
competition between psychiatric hospitals is "cut throat". Combine
this intense competition with America's poorly written involuntary
commitment laws and judges who refuse to impose protection from
unwarranted commitment that bona-fide due process requires, and the
result is a lot of people being deprived of liberty and suffering
psychiatric stigma unjustifiably."

http://psychrights.org/index.htm
http://www.antipsychiatry.org/unjustif.htm
http://reason.com/archives/2002/05/01/ill-treated
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=26154
http://psychrights.org/states/Maine/InvoluntaryCommitmentbyAliciaCurtis.htm


"Some psychiatric hospitals made a practice of admitting adolescents
in distress, using the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The federal
government finally intervened, charging the hospitals with fraud and
assessing fines of millions of dollars. Many of these children did
not have bipolar disorder at all, but were acting inappropriately
because of stresses in their families, with their friends, and at
school." --Edward Drummond, M.D., Associate Medical Director at
Seacoast Mental Health Center, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in _The
Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs_ (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York, 2000, pages 13-14.) Dr. Drummond graduated from Tufts
University School of Medicine and was trained in psychiatry at Harvard
University."

http://www.cchr.org/take_action/report_psychiatric_abuse.html
"Vulnerable people who have sought help from psychiatrists and
psychologists have been falsely diagnosed and forced to undergo
unwanted and often harmful psychiatric methods."

While in theory, a patient is entitled to a hearing before a judge
before longer term involuntary commitment, in practice this provides
little protection.
1. In most states, you can be held for 3 days just on the
recommendation
of a "screener," who need not even be a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists
just rubber stamp the screener's recommendation.
2. You can be and many people are involuntarily committed if they are
considered a potential danger to themselves, i.e., if they've had
thoughts of suicide. But thoughts of suicide are a common symptom of
depression; indeed, it's one of the standard DSM-IV diagnostic
criteria
for clinical depression.
3. For the reasons noted above, it's in the financial interest of
both
screeners and psychiatrists to commit people.
4. It often 3 weeks or longer to get even a preliminary hearing before
a
judge, during which time the person remains committed and the bills
pile up.
5. Judges usually just follow the recommendation of the
psychiatrist/screener, who have a vested interest in commitment.
Unless
you can afford to hire your own lawyer and psychiatrist, you may stay
committed.
6. The person is often released before a hearing can be held, which
is
often weeks. That still amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in
hospital and other medical bills. If you don't have insurance, they
can
and will charge you for it.

RGrannus
http://sites.google.com/site/rgrannus/

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