Guest guest Posted July 23, 2004 Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 > > http://www.sntp.net/null1.htm#prozac > > The Hidden Side of Psychiatry > by Gary Null, Ph.D. > > Mental illness is at an all-time high, with 40 > million Americans affected, according to reports > emanating from organized psychiatry. But just how > accurate is this account? As you will see, people > seeking help from the mental health industry are > often misdiagnosed, wrongfully treated, and abused. > Others are deceptively lured to psychiatric > facilities, or even kidnapped. No matter how they > arrive, though, once they are there, inmates lose > all freedoms and are forced to undergo dangerous but > sanctioned procedures, such as electroconvulsive > therapy and treatment with powerful drugs, that can > leave them emotionally, mentally, and physically > marked for life. Some psychiatric patients are > physically and sexually abused. Millions more are > told that they need harmful medications, such as > Prozac and Ritalin, but are not told of the > seriously damaging side effects of these. > Add to all this a mammoth insurance fraud - > which we all pay for - and what we have, in sum, is > the dark side of psychiatry. Millions of individuals > are being grievously harmed by the mental health > profession, and it's time that we as a society faced > this. > > Section Index: > > > Fraudulent Practices in Mental Health > Insurance Scams > Patient Brokering > Bogus and Nonexistent Treatments > Abusive Treatments > Your Taxes Pay for This > Psychiatric Research > Inhumane Treatment > Involuntary Commitment > Electroconvulsive Therapy > Deep Sleep Therapy > Sexual Abuse Exploitation of Minorities > Abuse of Senior Citizens > Prozac: A Second Opinion > Worthless Clinical Trials > The Medical Industrial Complex > Side Effects of Prozac > Tardive Dystonia and Tardive Dyskinesia > Sexual Dysfunction > Biochemical Imbalance > Dependency > Overcoming Depression Without Drugs > > Fraudulent Practices in Mental Health > Fraud in the mental health industry goes > beyond being a problem; it's more like an > all-pervasive condition. By way of introductory > illustration, let's look at the recent legal > problems of a company that owned several chains of > psychiatric hospitals, National Medical Enterprises > (NME). As author Joe Sharkey reported in his book > Bedlam1,2 in 1993 the FBI completed its > investigation of fraud in NME's psychiatric > hospitals and raided several NME facilities, in > Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Arizona, Missouri, > California, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Sharkey > described the extent of the morass into which this > enterprise had sunk: > " An estimated 130 lawsuits were filed against > NME's psychiatric hospitals by patients. Between > 1992 and early 1993, three major suits were filed by > insurance companies against NME for insurance fraud. > These suits identified more than $1 billion in > claims paid to NME's psychiatric hospitals. One > month after the FBI raids, NME agreed to pay $125 > million to settle two of the large insurance company > lawsuits. Soon after, they settled the third suit - > bringing the total costs in legal fees and > settlements to about $315 million.... > > " In April 1994, NME paid almost $375 million > in fines to the US Department of Justice for > violations of Federal law. NME had announced that it > would completely divest itself of its psychiatric > hospitals and reserved $237 million to cover the > write-offs for selling them. All told, NME's > settlements and fines have totaled $927 million. " > > Insurance Scams > The wrongdoings of NME are not the exception; > indeed, insurance fraud seems to be the bread and > butter of the mental health industry. Scams occur > whenever a psychiatrist or a psychiatric institution > bills Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance > companies for work they didn't do, for unnecessary > or bogus treatments, or for patients confined > against their will. Here are a few examples. > Patient Brokering > Consider this story, carried by the Los > Angeles Times in 19943: > " Michael quickly realized that A Place For Us > wasn't a place for him. Overweight and suffering > from stress, the New Yorker had flown cross country > to attend what was advertised as a weight loss > clinic in southern California. The airfare was free > and the treatment, he was told, was fully covered by > his Blue Cross plan. But when Michael reached Los > Angeles, he was shocked to see himself booked into a > psychiatric hospital in a rundown section of [town] > where he was diagnosed as suffering from psychotic > depression and bulimia, conditions he denies ever > having. Then he was told he couldn't leave. Michael > is one of many stories emerging from federal and > state lawsuits in Los Angeles in which insurers > accuse A Place For Us of enlisting doctors and > hospital staff to falsify diagnosis and medical > records in order to obtain payment for treatment > that, whatever its value to patients, was not > covered by their health plans. " > > Michael's story is not an isolated incident. > Overweight people are frequent targets of insurance > scams. Patient brokers fraudulently advertise 1-800 > numbers on television, and people call in thinking > that they are talking to health spa representatives. > In actuality, they are speaking to sales agents of > psychiatric facilities whose only motive is to > determine whether or not potential clients have > insurance, since the size of their commission > depends upon how many patients they can get into the > hospital and how long they can keep them there. > > It's hard to believe that this is going on in > America, but the reality is that, as a result of > gross deception by sales agents, people are > frequently unaware of the fact that they are about > to enter psychiatric institutions. If an > unsuspecting party has coverage, the person is flown > free to a facility, usually located in Florida or > California. A limo awaits at the airport, and the > place seems very accommodating until the person > actually arrives at the facility and is locked up > against his or her will. Once the person realizes > what is going on, it's too late. People who become > upset and attempt to leave can be threatened or > diagnosed as combative. > > Civil litigation attorney Randy Lakel works > pro bono to represent patients who were voluntarily > committed to psychiatric facilities by deceptive > patient brokers. He describes a case involving two > men from eastern Pennsylvania who were approached by > people in the crowd at an Overeaters Anonymous > meeting and taken aside.4 The brokers suggested to > them that maybe they needed a little extra help, > which could be offered by professionals at > overeaters' clinics. The men were lured to the > institution under false pretenses and then locked > up. > > Lakel believes that the problem has reached > huge proportions: " ...There are federal grand juries > investigating this. I've also spoken to general > counsel from very large insurance companies that > have called me up to inquire whether their insurance > company was involved in any of my investigations.... > The general impression I got from the mention of a > grand jury investigation and the general counsel > from a large insurance company was that it was not > an isolated incident that I was dealing with. " > > The broken world of patient brokering > encompasses more than fat farm fraud; it affects > people who might need help with all types of > problems. A nine-month investigation of deceptive > brokering practices conducted by Florida's St. > Petersburg Times was enlightening - and upsetting.5 > It was found that patient brokers sometimes share > their finder's fees with school counselors who help > provide likely young candidates for the brokers' > institutions, or with public health workers, union > representatives, or police and probation officers > who steer prospective patients their way. Finder's > fees can be as high as $3000 per patient. Another > investigation finding was that patients are > sometimes given false diagnoses, for insurance > purposes. This is not surprising. The trouble is (on > a personal level, and letting alone the issue of > massive fraud!) these false diagnoses of mental > illness can return to haunt patients throughout > their lives. Indeed, according to Randy Lakel, the > worst part of the problem is having a psychiatric > record for life: > > " Once people are committed, it goes on their > insurance record. These people...are appalled that > they now have a psychiatric record for the rest of > their lives. It can interfere with any kind of > employment opportunity. One of the people I talked > to was a professional in the medical field. In her > application, she was afraid that they were going to > ask her if she ever had psychiatric commitment. How > do you get that off the record? That, from a legal > point of view, is clearly a damage. " 4 > > A disturbing aspect of patient brokers and > referral services is that they are largely > unregulated. As the St. Petersburg Times reported,5 > in Florida and other states, referral personnel do > not need licenses or special training before they > can deal with the sick and the troubled. So people > with criminal records are among the brokers, many of > whom will do whatever it takes to get one more body > into a treatment center. > > Says Paul McDevitt, a licensed Massachusetts > mental health counselors: " These people have no > ethics at all. They're morally bankrupt. They're > like the grave robbers in old England who provided > cadavers for the medical schools. The grave robbers > of today are taking the bodies of those so confused > as to be dead and shipping them out to treatment > centers where they never get well. And the doctors > who are the pillars of society are still reaping the > benefits and still never asking where the bodies > come from. " > > Bogus and Nonexistent Treatments > Psychiatric facilities consistently charge > consumers for nontherapeutic treatments or services > not performed. Adolescent facilities are common > perpetrators of this abuse. One Texas hospital, for > example, billed insurance companies $40 a day for > relaxation therapy. This treatment, which simply > consisted of turning on Muzac while teenagers were > getting undressed, was actually far more exorbitant > when you consider that each patient's insurance > company was billed that price for one person turning > on the Muzac one time. > Bruce Wiseman is president of the Citizens > Commission on Human Rights, an organization that > champions mental health consumer protection.6 He can > provide a plethora of examples of how psychiatrists > rip off the system. Wiseman tells of a Texas > psychiatrist who was known for his hundred-dollar > handshake. All he would do was walk by the beds of > various patients, shake hands with them, and then > bill each person's insurance company a hundred > dollars. Another investigation discovered that > charges for nutritional counseling were to cover the > person going to lunch. Insurance companies are also > charged for individual therapy when a group of > people are placed in a room together and told to > scream at each other for a couple of hours. These > would be a little bit funny if they weren't so > devastating in terms of what they do to insurance > premiums and our taxes. " 7 > > Wiseman states that psychiatrists collect > $600,000 to 900,000 a year on bogus or nonexistent > treatments. " We have plenty of cases where they just > bill the insurance company or the government for > treatment that was never given. They don't even see > the patient and they send the bills in. " 7 > > Abusive Treatments > The scenario worsens when you consider that > economic exploitation is often coupled with physical > abuse. Wiseman tells how an adolescent facility in > Reno tormented a 15 year-old boy and then billed his > parents' insurance company $400,000: > " They would drug this kid with Haldol, a > so-called antipsychotic drug, until he was in a > stupor, and then tie him in four-point restraints. > They would tie his hands and feet to the bed, and > then tickle him until he was hysterical. For that > " treatment " this child's parents' insurance company > was billed $400,000, and the insurance company paid > it! If anyone else does to a child what the > psychiatrist does, it is called child abuse. But > here the insurance company pays almost half a > million dollars for it. This is the kind of > treatment and insurance fraud that exists. > > This is not an isolated incident, Wiseman > explains, but typical of what goes on: " In the Reno > facility, children are subject to frequent > take-downs. If a kid 'smarts off' or jumps the > guards, he or she is physically abused. One patient > in a Texas hospital had her legs strapped to a chair > for four hours because she was moving her legs. They > called it purposeful exercise, which she was not > supposed to do. Kids are made to stand and look at a > wall for 16 hours a day for months on end. There is > also sexual abuse regularly going on in these > hospitals. " 8 > > Nickie Saizon, who regrettably placed her son > in a psychiatric facility, says that routine > punishments were called treatment. Her insurance > company was billed exorbitant amounts for these > procedures: > > " If they punished them with a time out, they > had to sit in a chair in the hallway all day without > moving. They charged $37.50 for that. When the kids > would get mad and angry, they would have a nurse and > counselors surround the kids and tell them, 'Get > mad, get it out, have your fit.' They would keep on > until they got mad and really started having a big > fit. Then they put them down on the floor, held them > there, and cut their shirt off. For that they > charged $45. Then they put them in a room which they > call a think tank. The room is bare and empty. There > is no carpet, no chairs, nothing. They have to go in > there and think over how they should have handled > the problem.... They charged $87.50 for this room. > Every time you turned around there were hidden > costs.9 > > Wiseman believes that people would be outraged > to learn what really goes on in these institutions: > " The general public isn't aware of it, but one would > be hard pressed to walk into any psychiatric > hospital and not weep at the 'treatment' that occurs > in these places. " 8 > > Your Taxes Pay for This > In the final analysis, fraudulent insurance > practices hurt taxpayers since the maintenance of > moderate insurance rates becomes virtually > impossible. Consider these figures. The American > public is swindled out of $42 billion a year. That's > $3 billion a month, $800 million a week, $116 > million a day, $4 million an hour, $80,000 a minute, > and $1300 a second. > The federal government and the insurance > industry are finally waking up to the problem and > starting to fight back. In 1993, seven of the > largest insurance companies sued one of the largest > psychiatric hospital chains, National Medical > Enterprises, for $750 million. In addition, every > attorney general now has an assistant attorney > general to oversee health care fraud prosecutions. > As a result, some progress has been made. Wiseman > states: > > " Psychiatrists make up 8% of doctors, but 18% > of those health care practitioners that have been > kicked out of the Medicare system for fraud. Last > year, $411 million was paid to the government in > fines and penalties for health care fraud and 90% of > that was paid by psychiatrists or psychiatric > institutions. " 7 > > Although this is a start, it is Wiseman's > belief that to truly resolve the problem the public > must become more informed about what's going on, and > insist on putting an end to the corruption. > > Psychiatric Research > Each year, hundreds of millions of tax dollars > are wasted on pointless research conducted by the > National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). For > instance, these are examples of the types of studies > they are funding under the guise of learning more > about sexual behavior: a four-year study of horses > masturbating, an eight-year study of castrated > quail, a four-year study on the nasal cavities of > hamsters during intercourse, a two-year study on the > sexual preference and behavior of prairie moles, an > 11-year study in which female pigeon genitals were > stimulated to measure how hormones affect sexual > behavior, a 9-year study of maternal licking of the > genital region of male versus female ferret babies, > a 9-year study on the sexual behavior of lizards, a > 23-year study of sexual odors and social factors > that affect male Asian monkeys, and a 23-year study > on the sexual behavior of male rats as a biological > basis for human behavior. > To study the effects of drugs, a 13-year study > was undertaken in which rats were given > hallucinogens, such as LSD, > > > > for entire article: > http://www.sntp.net/null1.htm#prozac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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