BFFs: Menendez and Melgen and a 21-Million Dollar Medicare Payment

So, how many patients do you think an ophthalmologist would have to see to earn $21 million dollars in one year? BTW, that $21 million is just for seeing Medicare patients and should not be confused with patients paying from any other source.

Well, that’s the tip of the iceberg in that we have come to find out that of the 820,000, or so, healthcare providers servicing Medicare patients at a cost of $64 billion dollars (some reports say $77 billion or more), the top 344 of them pulled in a combined $1.5 billion dollars (some reports say the top 1% took in 14% - close to $11 billion). These 344, an arbitrary number, are identified as being part of the $3 million dollar club which was the cut-off for assembling this cast of celebrity doctors because Health and Human Services (HHS) used that dollar amount as the flag in its audit last year to recommend further scrutiny of providers charging $3 million or above.

Okay, I could bore you with all the details and reveal how “1 in 4 of the top-paid doctors – 87 of them – practice in Florida, a state known both for high Medicare spending and widespread fraud,” but you could find all that out yourself by pumping something like “billions of medicare dollars go to small group of doctors” into Google Search or any other reliable Internet search engine…so, let’s cut to the chase.

Let me throw out two names here: Bob Menendez and Salomon Melgen.

Unless you’re living in a hole, you probably know Bob Menendez but, in the off-case that you are scratching your head, let me help you; Menendez is one of two illustrious Senators that represent the Sheeple’s Republik of New Jerkistan. Oh, he also seems to be a favorite of our dear leader, Mayor Mayer, because every photo-op I’ve seen lately has them buddying up to one another with nothing but smiles. In fact, give them a couple of shovels and they’ll break ground somewhere…anywhere…for some new project for which they will gladly take credit.

Now, it’s true, Bob has had some troubles lately but he seems to have gotten through virtually unscathed but that run of luck might be coming to an end. At least I can hope…don’t take that away from me.

Anyway, here’s the tie-in: Senator Bob Menendez has been linked to ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, who happens to be the top doc when it comes to Medicare payments, since he billed Medicare $21 million dollars in 2012. Man, that’s a lot of medi-CARE!

What do we know about Melgen? Well, he billed Medicare $21 million dollars for services rendered in 2012, he has been the subject of a number of FBI raids, he was THE top political donor to Menendez’s Senate re-election campaign ($700,000 to Menendez and PACs), the Menendez-Melgen relationship prompted a Senate Ethics and Justice Department investigation that resulted in Menendez reimbursing Melgen more than $70,000 for plane trips, and FBI agents most recently raided Melgen’s West Palm Beach offices and were seen carting away evidence for what, they would not say.

Bob Menendez took advantage of his close relationship with Melgen, a transplant from the Dominican Republic to Florida in the late 1970s, to take occasional free trips in Melgen’s private jet to the Dominican Republic for reasons still unknown for sure, and open to interpretation, and while there stayed, for free, at the good doctor’s home, a luxury resort complex. Oh the perks of being a public servant.

As for Dr. Melgen, his lawyer has “warned against presuming that the doctor’s high bills to Medicare meant he was engaged in fraud.” Really, he needs to tell us that? No, we would never suspect such a thing. I know a number of doctors raking in $21 million dollars a year. But aren’t we made to believe that anybody making this kind of money has to be earning it through chicanery? Isn’t that what Mr. Obama refers to as income inequality? And that’s just plain wrong and sinful to earn that kind of money and “Shame on you, Bob Menendez, supposed hero of the little guy, hanging out with such trash.” I think this guy should be taxed all the way to Kingdom come; stinkin’ one-per-center. (BTW, the good doctor was forced to pay back $9 million dollars that he was suspected of overbilling so not everything is as rosy as Melgen’s lawyer wants us to believe.)

So, what did Menendez do in return for Melgen for all his generosity? Well, we know that Melgen provided Menendez with free private jet rides to the Dominican Republic and free room and board while there in luxury accommodations. It also appears that Mr. Menendez “publicly and privately helped his friend with business disputes.” In fact, Senator Bob intervened on Melgen’s behalf making calls to the Health and Human Services Department attempting to resolve the dispute over the good doctor’s supposed over-billing as well as advocating for Melgen “during a Senate hearing into a port security contract in the Dominican Republic” involving a security company the doctor purchased in hopes of gaining lucrative contracts to inspect containers leaving the port. When the Customs agency refused to honor the contract, Senator Bob encouraged U.S. officials to intervene – all the while forgetting to mention his connection to the doctor’s business plans.

Maybe Mr. Menendez needs a little refresher course as to whom exactly it is he should be representing. My last recollection was that he was the Senator from New Jersey not Florida, not the Dominican Republic, and certainly not Mr. Melgen’s personal Senator to resolve all of his shady deals. My understanding is that Menendez has enough of his own shady dealing to worry about without taking on more.

In the end, all this really proves is that it is time for Senator Bob to move out of the way and let a real patriot step up to serve the good citizens of New Jersey.