Authorities say John Parsons, 57, of Oak Park stole the identity of a mentally disabled friend to pay for heart bypass surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago in 2007. Parsons allegedly racked up about $350,000 in medical expenses billed to the friend's Medicaid account.This behavior might help you with the ultimate governmental double-dip: (1) as you tap the government for your health bill and (2) for housing in the slammer after you're caught. But hey, since they can't take back the bypasses, at least you'll be chest pain free!
Sick, just sick.
-Wes
PS: Judith Graham has a nice piece on what to do if you suspect medical identity theft in her blog, Triage.
The story reminds me of an ethical question I heard when younger: If the only way to save your brother's life is to steal the medicine from the pharmacy, is it ethical to do so even though it is illegal?
ReplyDeleteThis, of course, has now appeared to happen on a much bigger scale.
This behavior might help you with the ultimate governmental double-dip: (1) as you tap the government for your health bill and (2) for housing in the slammer after you're caught. But hey, since they can't take back the bypasses, at least you'll be chest pain free!
ReplyDelete