- LOS ANGELES -- More than
5,000 people were subjected to unnecessary treatment including risky surgical
procedures as part of a fraud which attempted to net almost $100 million
(£56 million) from health insurance companies, Californian authorities
said.
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- Three people running the Unity Outpatient Surgery Centre
in Buena Park are in custody after being arrested following a two-year
investigation.
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- They allegedly paid $1 million to middlemen who travelled
America recruiting patients from 45 states for the procedures. They flew
"patients" to the clinic and coached them on what to say before
having often complex operations including colonoscopies, surgery for haemorrhoids,
pain management and sweaty palms, officials claimed.
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- In return for volunteering, the patients - who all had
insurance that did not require prior approval for operations - received
credits towards cosmetic surgery worth between $300 and $1,000. The operations
were then billed at excessive amounts to the patients' insurance companies.
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