Watchdog Bytes

Texas set to get/ feds spending $5 billion -- now in color!

Texas is set to receive more than $5.5 billion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Here are the top 10 most expensive entitlements and grants.

Program	Amount
Grants for Medicaid, Recovery Act	$4,189,789,386
Child Support Enforcement and Family Supp	$226,347,693
Child Care and Development Block Grant	$214,908,972
Health Resources and Services, Recovery Act	$89,919,568
Health Information Technology	$79,519,314
Temporary Assistance for Needy	$52,191,219
Children and Families Services Programs, Recovery Act	$51,863,097
Children and Families Services Programs, Recovery Act	$48,148,071
Children and Families Services Programs, Recovery Act	$45,174,754
National Center for Research Resources, Recovery Act	$41,689,233
TOTAL	$5,039,551,307

-- Darren Barbee

Four who died, June 21-22

Pfc. David T. Miller, 19, of Wilton, N.Y., and Spc. Andrew R. Looney, 22, of Owasso, Okla., died June 21 at Lar Sholtan Village, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when a suicide bomber attacked their unit.  They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Cpl. Claudio Patino IV, 22, of Yorba Linda, Calif., died June 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Cpl. Kevin A. Cueto, 23, of San Jose, Calif., died June 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

1st Sgt. Eddie Turner, 41, of Fort Belvoir, Va., died June 22 at Camp Clark, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.  He was assigned to the 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

-- Darren Barbee

Spc. Jacob P. Dohrenwend

Spc. Jacob P. Dohrenwend, 20, of Milford, Ohio, died June 21 at Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

-- Darren Barbee

FDA says 'magic power' instant coffee doesn't help in the bedroom

As if coffee breath isn’t enough of a turnoff, apparently the sexual potency promised by Magic Power Coffee could possibly kill you, the FDA says.
On the other hand, it does take the pressure off. Way off. The Food and Drug Administration says the instant coffee, marketed on the Internet, contains an active ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure.
Hmmm...
Anyway, when blood pressure drops suddenly, the brain is deprived of an adequate blood supply, which can lead to dizziness or lightheadedness. Exposure to some sexual enhancement products can expose consumers to unpredictable risks, the potential for injury, death or even worse — should someone find out you bought it — ridicule.
By the way, Magic Power Coffee sexual enhancement dietary supplement contains hydroxythiohomosildenafil. That’s right, hydroxythiohomosildenafil!Hydroxythiohomosildenafil, as many know, is a chemical similar to the active ingredient in (close your eyes if you don’t want to see a naughty word) Viagra.
“Because this product is an instant coffee labeled as an ‘all natural dietary supplement,’ consumers may assume it is harmless and poses no health risk,” said Deborah M. Autor, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of Compliance. “In fact, Magic Power Coffee can cause serious harm.”
The product is distributed on websites and online auctions by independent distributors participating in an online multi-level marketing scheme, the FDA says. It is sold in a 2-serving box and a daunting 12-serving carton.

(Instant coffee of all things. Bah! In our day, folks waited for things to percolate.)

-- Darren Barbee

Foot fraud lands podiatrist in (a salty tub of) hot water (by which we mean prison)

Dr. Franklin “the Big Toe” Beltre (note: we made up that nickname)often had his feet up in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., when he billed the government for medical services provided in the Rio Grande Valley.

In fact, according to a federal indictment, Beltre was off in Europe, Nevada, Puerto Rico and Colorado when his office billed Medicare and Medicaid for foot work (see picture, left) that he didn’t do.

Beltre was sentenced last month to three years in federal prison for committing more than $1 million in health care fraud. He was ordered to surrender to the marshals on June 14 in Houston.

The indictment say that Beltre had a fetish for fleecing the feds for a veritable fete of fradulent foot work.
He oversaw services not covered by Medicare or Medicaid, not ordered by a physician or qualified person or not provided at all.
Some of the work was actually performed by co-defendant Manuela Alana, an unlicensed, unsupervised podiatrist and resident of Pharr. She got a two-year prison sentence.
Beltre administered podiatry services to adult day care centers throughout the valley, placing people “at risk of infection and physical danger,” according to the indictment.
The scheme lasted from about 2004 until 2007.

And now a foot joke we found on the Internet:

Medical student: 'Please sir, there's some writing on this patient's foot.'
Podiatrist: 'Pay attention. That's a footnote.'

-- Darren Barbee

Ouchies: Fort Worth anesthesiologist knocked out pain to wrong side of surgical patient

AUSTIN - A Fort Worth anesthesiologist violated the state's standard of care by performing a nerve block on the wrong side of his patient during a surgery, according to the Texas Medical Board. According to board records, it wasn't the first time Dr. Gene Vertkin performed a "wrong side" procedure at the hospital, which isn't named in the documents.  

Vertkin could not be reached for comment at a cellphone number listed in his name or at his practice.

Board documents say Vertkin admitted his error and implemented new procedures to mark a patient to prevent a similar mistake. Vertkin agreed to complete 10 hours of continuing education in risk management. He wasn't fined.

Board-certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, Vertkin is licensed to practice in Texas, Florida, California, Oklahoma, Washington and Illinois.

- Darren Barbee

EEOC accused dentist of spanking woman, making racist comments, asking for sex

A dentist affiliated with a national denture company was accused of making racist comments and spanking a female employee. (It isn’t clear if she was doing something for which a dentist can prescribe medical spanking.)
Affordable Care, Inc., a national denture provider, will pay $150,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sex and race discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Affordable Care, based in Kinston, N.C., “created a sexually and racially hostile work environment for Ariede Mills, who is African American, and Laura Carl, who is white, at its office in West Springfield,” according to the EEOC.
Among other things, the dentist referred to the women as whining “b_____s,” propositioned Mills for sex and spanked Carl repeatedly on the buttocks. Dr. Spanky was also accused of making insulting remarks about black people and claiming he had a relative in the Ku Klux Klan. (Wonder if that’s on his resume?)
The settlement provides $75,000 each to Mills and Carl.
On its web site, Affordable Care describes itself as a dental services organization currently supporting over 150 affiliated practices providing affordable dentures in more than 37 states.
The company did not immediately have a comment.

-- Darren Barbee

CareFlite Bell 222U that crashed was one of just five in service in Texas

Only five Bell222U helicopters are in service in Texas, according to the FAA.

Overall, 29 are in service across the country.

The final entry in this list, 515MK, was the craft that crashed Wednesday in a Midlothian field, killing two.

N-Number	Serial Number	Name	Address
141CF	47524	CAREFLITE	3110 S GREAT SOUTHWEST PKWY GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 75052-7238
142CF	47565	CAREFLITE	3110 S GREAT SOUTHWEST PKWY GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 75052-7238
222HX	47533	CAREFLITE	3110 S GREAT SOUTHWEST PKWY GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 75052-7238
3194M	47538	SALE REPORTED	PO BOX 1110 ADDISON, TX 75001
515MK	47515	CAREFLITE	3110 S GREAT SOUTHWEST PKWY GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 75052-7238

-- Darren Barbee