Originally published by McDonald Worley.
A former employee of HealthNet, MDwise and IU Health has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the named health systems and insurer alleging low income pregnant women received compromised care, high risk Medicaid patients were shuffled to nurse midwives rather than doctors.
The complaint alleges this practice may have led to a mother’s death, as well as brain damage in children.
(Related: Prenatal Zofran Causing Birth Injuries?)
Filed by Dr. Judith Robinson, a former doctor with the company who was terminated in 2013. According to the plaintiff:
“I went to everybody and anybody I could because I was concerned about these patients,” Robinson said in a recent interview. “Why is it that it seems to be OK to have this population of indigent patients … get less care? It is just not right.”
The complaint maintains the primary care hospitals are using nursing midwives, typically paid one-third as much as an obstetrician-gynecologist, to cut costs, while the Medicaid payout pays the same.
According to LawsuitLegal, injuries suffered by infants in medical negligence cases can often result from a failure to refer high-risk patients to specialists.
Filed under the 2013 False Claims Act, the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the government alleging the fraudulent billing practices. Plaintiff is seeking back pay plust interest and damages in the suit, including her lawyer’s fees.
The U.S. Attorney’s office refused comment citing an ongoing investigation.
Dr. Robinson was quoted in the article, “As far as midwifery and low-risk pregnancies, they do a wonderful job,” she said. “The whole issue here has to do with training — they don’t have the experience.”
(Source: Indystar)
The post High Risk Pregnancy Care Whistleblower Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Low-Income Women appeared first on McDonald Worley P.C. Attorneys At Law.
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