These patient brokers would receive $3,500 or more per person sent to the United States. It has been reported that among the many head hunter groups and referral sources operating in Toronto was Family Plus, Inc., owned and operated by Toronto therapist Tony Pace. In a 1993 article called “The Patient Pipeline,” one U.S. newspaper reported that “Some patient brokers have other jobs. And they used those trusted positions to steer patients to distant treatment centres. Take Tony Pace, director of a Toronto counseling center called Family Plus. ... Pace also acted as a patient broker, referring clients to several U.S. programs, including Future Steps, a now-closed treatment centre owned by Andrew R. Siegel. Last April, Siegel agreed to pay $900 and plane fare for each patient that Family Plus referred to Future Steps, Pace said in a sworn statement. Pace’s commission would be reduced, however, if a patient failed to remain in rehab the full 30 days. Records show [Pace] said American hospitals kept him in business. ...’In a nutshell, the American hospitals pay for our operation here.’”
On January 11, 1996, in United States v. Andrew R. Siegel, Robin T. Doud-Lacher, Angela F. Starks, and Brenda F. Henry, an indictment was issued by a grand jury of a United States District Court against the above individuals (one of whom is the director of Future Steps) for fraudulently billing the Medicaid program. On February 26, 1996, a St. Petersburg, Florida, paper reported that “The founder of a Pinellas Park County drug treatment center and two workers for a Tampa public health clinic were found guilty Thursday of conspiring to pay and receive kick backs for steering Medicaid patients into the program.... [Andrew R.] Single, 41, of St. Petersburg was found guilty of conspiracy and two counts of paying Starks and Henry a total of $5,000 for sending 18 indigent, pregnant drug abusers into the Future Steps program. ...Starks, 38, and Henry, 36, both of Tampa, were each convicted of conspiracy and one count of accepting the money. A fourth defendant, Robin Doud-Lacher, earlier pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count, cooperated with the government and testified at the 13-day trial. The jury reached its verdict after one day of deliberation.”
A single invoice from Phoenix Alcohol and Drug, a head hunter group operating from various locations in southern Ontario, illustrates the range of profits to be made. The invoice listed referral fees for 26 patients at $3,500 each—a total of $91,000.
In 1992, the FBI raided the facilities of Psychiatric Institutes of America (PIA) owned by National Medical Enterprises. As a result, the company has been forced to pay a total of approximately $927 million in insurance repayments and compensation to victims, including $375 million in federal fines. PIA billed OHIP horrendous amounts of money, averaging $100,000 per patient.
The $400 Million Swindle continued...
    
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