THE LOS ANGELES KING/DREW SAGA CONTINUES

If the allegations against Dr. Harold Tate are true, the former radiologist at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center is guilty of defrauding the county of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also, if the charges hold up, they would incriminate the King/Drew administration for permitting massive fiscal malfeasance, along with the gross medical incompetence that has dominated County Board of Supervisors meetings lately.

The fiscal issues of the Tate case were the focus of last week's supervisors' meeting and as long as these problems remain unsolved, we have no doubt they will continue to percolate during today's weekly public meeting. Last week, the King/Drew issue resurfaced again after a report published in the Los Angeles Times found that the hospital paid Tate more than $1.3 million in a year's time, when he claims to have worked 22- to 24-hour days, seven days a week, for weeks at stretch.

How could hospital administrators approve paychecks that claimed 24-hour shifts that went on for days and weeks? Tate, who no longer works at the hospital, says the billing was legitimate, yet it appears impossible. People just can't survive on two hours sleep or less for weeks at at time. Medical experts quoted by the newspaper said that if the hours were somehow true, Tate would be far too overworked to make any reliable medical decisions.

The Board of Supervisors appears powerless to reform the hospital, even as it continues to kill patients because of faulty medical care. Officials only became aware of Tate's alleged overbilling after being informed by the Times.

Nor is Tate's alleged crime isolated. On Friday, three days after the board meeting, the Times reported that county officials are investigating at least four doctors for alleged timecard fraud, including Lawrence Robinson, acting chairman of the pediatrics department.

As evidence of fraud and fiscal malfeasance piles on top of ongoing medical incompetence, the case for maintaining King/Drew, at least as it currently exists, grows weaker and weaker by the day. And the county's already tarnished reputation for managing health care grows darker.

Source

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

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