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Man gets $350,000 heart bypass by stealing friend's identity

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Jeff Nelligan
Philip Johnson
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Medicaid
John Parsons
Heart Bypass Surgery
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

John Parsons apparently believed he would die without heart bypass surgery. To get it, the uninsured 57-year-old ex-convict took a step that has hospital officials shaking their heads--he managed to pass himself off as a mentally-disabled friend and, using the friend's Medicaid card, obtained the surgery. Now, officials at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital are stuck with a big bill and a lot of questions as to how Parsons pulled it off.

According to the authorities, Parsons got the surgery at Northwestern in 2007, generating about $350,000 in expenses. When bills started arriving at the home of the friend, Philip Johnson, Johnson's live-in caregiver discovered the alleged scam and notified officials. Parsons has since admitted stealing Johnson's identity. Northwestern, for its part, has agreed to cover the cost of the surgery so Johnson won't be responsible for it.

What has healthcare officials puzzled is the extent of the apparent deception. To get the heart bypass, doctors would have needed a lot of clinical information, including patient blood type, cardiac history, medical history and more, records that would be very difficult to fake, notes CMS spokesman Jeff Nelligan. Northwestern continues to investigate the incident.

To learn more about the alleged scam:
- read this Chicago Tribune piece

Comments

Yet another argument for electronic medical records. Oh . . . and universal health insurance.

Mr. Parsons is most likely guilty of several crimes, a mix of misdemeanors and felonies, ranging from criminal impersonation to theft by deception, fraud, numerous hipaa violations, theft of services, false swearing, and a host of others. I am not an attorney, but I have been a regular viewer of Law and Order for many years :).
The fact is, unless Mr. Parsons is dumb enough to plead guilty to any of these charges, he will never be brought to trial before a jury. I honestly do not believe that any jury in the land would convict this man, and jury nullification would only encourage more of this fraudelent activity.
H.S.

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