Thailand Announces New School for Chiropractors
THAILAND: A new course certification of chiropractors will be open in Thailand, says President of the Thailand Chiropractic Association, Dr Oat Buranasombati.
According to Bangkok’s independent newspaper, The Nation, Dr Buranasombati confirmed last July 10th that their goal is to start a chiropractic course at Rangsit University next year and they’re expecting to recruit around 30 students.”
According to The Nation, chiropractic treatment has been available in Thailand since 1993, with 21 local and foreign chiropractors—most practicing in Bangkok and Pattaya.
Hong Kong was the first territory in Asia to officially issue licenses to chiropractors. The Hong Kong Chiropractic Association was formed in 1967 and lists 44 members.
The Nation
FBI Operation Settle Back Targets Health Care Fraud
CONNECTICUT: Richard Fogel, a 52-year-old Norwalk chiropractor, was sentenced in late July to eight months in prison and must also pay more than $1.1 million in restitution for health care fraud. According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release, the first three months of which Fogel must serve in home confinement with electronic monitoring. Fogel has also been ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. The sentencing comes 14 months after Fogel waived indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud. The court lessened the maximum sentence of 46 to 57 months of imprisonment, crediting Fogel for his cooperation with the government’s investigation.
Fogel has admitted, from Jan. 1, 1998, through Oct. 1, 2003, he created false medical records for patients who were involved in personal injury claims, settlements and lawsuits. The records falsely stated the patients’ health conditions and Fogel submitted the false records in order to be paid either directly by insurance companies, or as part of the patients’ personal injury claims.
Two other chiropractors at Fogel’s practice have pleaded guilty to making false statements in medical records while they were employed at his clinic, and they subsequently were sentenced to terms of probation. A patient at Fogel’s practice served more than four months in prison for using a false Social Security number while being treated as a patient.
Kevin O’Connor, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said this matter is part of “Operation Settle Back,” an undercover health care fraud investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“It is our hope that successful prosecutions like Operation Settle Back, and the potential for terms of incarceration like the sentence imposed today, will have a clear deterrent effect to licensed professionals who are weighing the risks associated with committing health care fraud or insurance fraud,” O’Connor said.
Westport New
Chiropractor Sues Insurer for Discounting Bills
CALIFORNIA: A lawsuit that charges Zenith National Insurance Corp. with improperly discounting medical bills that were submitted for payment has been filed in federal court in Los Angeles by an Illinois chiropractor. Woodland Hills-based Zenith said Friday that the complaint, which seeks class action status, was filed by Kathleen Roche, a Belleville, IL.-based chiropractor who conducts business as Back Doctors Chiropractic. The insurer said it has not yet been served with a copy of the complaint.
“The company believes that the complaint is without merit and intends to defend the litigation vigorously,” Zenith said in a statement.
Don’t Mess with the IRS
MICHIGAN: A Cascade Township chiropractor pleaded guilty in mid-July to conspiring to hide $2.4 million that he earned at his chiropractic care business, federal court records show. Paul Tuthill, 62, admitted to U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Scoville that he evaded paying income and Social Security taxes between 2000 and 2005, including claiming a net income of negative $1,512 between June 2000 and August 2004.
The chiropractor’s wife, Cynthia Tuthill, also has pleaded guilty to related charges
The Grand Rapids Press
Dr. Lou Sportelli Earns Lifetime Achievement Award
PORTUGAL: Dr. Louis Sportelli, of Palmerton, PA, attended the World Federation of Chiropractic’s 9th Biennial Congress and the European Chiropractic Union’s 75th Anniversary Convention held in Vilamoura, Portugal, in May, where he received the WFC’s Honour Award for an outstanding lifetime contribution to the international growth of the chiropractic profession. The award is bestowed upon the individual who has exhibited a lifetime achievement for outstanding service to the international community.
Almost 800 chiropractors and 1,000 total registrants attended the convention, which was hosted by the Portugese Chiropractors’ Association.
The WFC is a world organization that started in 1988, of which Sportelli was a founding member. There are 67 countries around the world that are represented by the WFC.
Times News Online
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