Feds say kickbacks and bribes forced surgical patients to travel long distance to Dallas hospital
They were so motivated by money, the doctor and chiropractor were willing to make patients travel long distances from West Texas to a Dallas hospital for surgeries — a five-hour drive, federal court records say.
Shawn Henry, a Fort Worth spine surgeon, was “aggressive” in recommending surgeries at Forest Park Medical Center, the court records said. But what the Midland patients didn’t know was that Henry was being paid by the hospital’s owners for referring them there, according to prosecutors.
Those are the allegations in newly-released court records related to another plea deal in the $200 million federal bribery and kickback case against 21 people associated with the bankrupt Forest Park Medical Center.
Frank Gonzales Jr., a West Texas chiropractor, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to pay and receive health care kickbacks and bribes in the case, according to documents filed Monday. A judge has to approve the plea agreement before it is official.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/07/06/feds-say-kickbacks-bribes-result-patients-traveling-long-distances-dallas-hospital-surgeries
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