Without bribes, the state money stops?
The health care industry recently got another black eye when it was alleged that the former head of the Greater New York Hospital Association and CEO of the Medisys hospital network, David Rosen had been bribing state representatives to continue to bail out his network of failing hospitals while others (such as St. Vincents) were allowed to fail.
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/03/17/queens/qns_rosen_aquino_complaint_20110317.txt
Following this federal allegation and his arrest by FBI agents while at work in his office, Mr. Rosen was fired from his $1.5M a year position as the CEO of Medisys. (The state officials charged with bribery were arrested before this).
Please compare and contrast this salary to the CEO of the city run network of hospitals, HHC. HHC operates a network of fourteen (not merely 4) hospitals that "lose money, yet provide valuable care", and its CEO earns a relatively modest $400k a year.
To the surprise of few people, the allegations have caused process by which the state decides which hospitals to bail out to be under much closer review.
It is also no surprise that two of Medisys's four hospitals are in danger of no longer receiving state aid; they will be "allowed to fail"
Pennisula, you are first. Brookdale, you are likely next.
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110724/FREE/110729942
Hopefully these decisions are being made in a way that allows the persons in these poor communities to continue to get health care somewhere.
While most hospitals in low income NYC neighborhoods lose money, I'd hate for these hospitals to be singled out for closure because of the alleged crimes the former CEO.
Comments
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This country needs such a dramatic overhaul of all aspects of health care it's almost beyond comprehension.
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A friend of mine was able to get a photo of Mr. Rosen in handcuffs, as he was being escorted by the police from his office at Jamaica Hospital.
She framed it, and hung it in her office.
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A friend of mine in Australia was part of an independent review that compared the cost of funding health care through private sector insurers and through Medicare, that review found that the chief difference in costs were related to advertising - that was at a time when private health funds were largely mutually owned. I'd be happy to have the private not-for-profit sector run hospitals and 80-20 health plans, but as soon as you involve Wall Street, money gets creamed off for executive salaries and shareholder dividends. When I lived in Australia I hated Medicare, as an inefficient bureaucracy that made you wait for elective surgery. Then I moved here and can see how every US health care provider is buried in insurance company paperwork and even well insured families go bankrupt paying for chronic illnesses and major medical. Makes Medicare Australia look fantastic.
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As result of being on medicaid, the majority of the patients of Medisys are completely removed from any ability to demand quality services.
At this point NY state expects hospitals in low income neighborhoods to lose money and expects to have to bail them out, so the hospitals have very little incentive to not lose money.
...especially in cases like this, when bribery is alleged to have been involved.
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A senior Canadian civil servant explained the rationale behind making most medical services a government monopoly. By not giving high and middle income Canadians the option of buying their way out of the public system within Canada, a politically powerful group keeps the government accountable for the quality of health services. Canadians can't, for example, go to a private hospital in Canada for a hip replacement, but they could go to the USA (or India or Mexico) but they would have to pay cash. In countries with a national health service, like Canada, Australia and the UK, there are always complaints about how long you have to wait for elective surgery, but at least you get the same standard of care whether rich or poor, and you don't lose your house and life savings paying for treatment.
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Sounds like the argument against charter schools: Without the middle class, the public schools will just get worse.
I do like the part about not having to go into to bankruptcy because you get sick though. That holds genuine appeal to me as I get older.
...but Medisys is classic.
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It is only an argument against charter schools if middle and high income families can only choose between a public school and a charter school. The Canadian premise of public only applies because Canadians are legally restricted from getting private treatment for a service offered by the government health plan. To extend that to schools would mean the government would have to take over or close all non-public schools - private, church schools, military schools, so the public school is the only option. That is unlikely to happen in the US, it might even be an unconstitutional prohibition on religious education. Unless the politically powerful middle income families are forced to use public schools, they are not going to lobby to make them better.
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True, you'd have to prevent people from getting better care anywhere in the country.
I do not think that could be accomplished here.
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Many hospitals, not just those in poor neighborhoods lose money. And whenever someone who's insured goes to a hospital either they or their insurance company is billed extra to pay for uninsured people. So...you and I and all those who are insured pay twice...once in our taxes for those on Medicaid and every time we use a hospital for either ER or surgery. It's double taxation in a way and it stinks. About 25 years ago there were many hospitals owned and run by doctors. They were small, maybe 50 beds or so and well equipped, fairly affordable and were only for their patients. They did not have ERs open to the public. New York changed the law so that if you were going to be a hospital you HAD to have an emergency room open to the public and give them free care to at least stabilize a person when they came in. The doctors groups that ran these places all closed. There are four I can think of off the top of my head in Brooklyn alone. These were great alternatives to the "big" places but because of the city's need to be fair to the ones giving free care they ended up losing a very valuable and less expensive resource.
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I agree.
...and the Urgent Care centers have sprung up to cream the little "profit" that there is to be gleaned from the ER ground.
Pro tip: To make money in emergency medicine, avoid having to treat the guy in ENY with the gun shot wound, and instead focus on treating the kid who broke his arm in prospect park. Do not affiliate with a hospital.
....I think my point is that we are about to lose even more hospitals.
Anyone think by 2020 HHC will be one of the few providers left?
P.S. I think HHC does a pretty good job.
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An article in today's Times discusses how many Brooklyn hospitals are losing money and may soon face closure
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/nyregion/dont-close-brooklyn-hospitals-allies-tell-state.html?_r=1
This time, bribery ain't gonna save us.
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We now return to the allegations against Mr. David Rosen!
His trial seems to have begun in late July.
Here's an update:
NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/nyregion/david-p-rosen-of-medisys-health-begins-bribery-trial.html
Associated Press: http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/142908/Trial-begins-for-ex-NYC-hospital-executive.html?isap=1&nav=5018
NY Post: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/they_feel_graft_mXgNqZ3dSMkDTCkliSe4TK
CNG: http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/07/28/queens/qns_rosen_opening_arguments_20110728.txt
I'm glad the media is continuing to cover it.
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Trial update:
On 8/4/11, some Medisys staff members reportedly testified that they had no idea that the alleged bribery was occurring.
Something along the lines of, "If there was any wrong doing, we weren't privy to it".
However, they also
yournabe.com wrote: testified that late Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio did little for the health system during the trial of former MediSys CEO David Rosen.
The basis of the trial seems to be that if MediSys wasn't paying the now-deceased Assemblyman for his work, they were -instead- knowingly paying him for his influence.
source: http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/08/09/queens/qns_rosen_trial_20110804.txt
In just a week or two, we should be able to know whether the allegations against Mr. Rosen are true.....
Update as per 8/11/11:
Source: http://www.bayside-times.com/articles/2011/08/14/queens/qns_rosen_trial_part_two_20110811.txt
Rosen did not take the stand in his own defense in the bench trial and his attorney, Scott Morvillo, called current MediSys CEO Neal Phillips and attorney Barbara Arky as the defense’s only witnesses.
Rosen was charged with other alleged misconduct besides his dealings with Seminerio during his tenure with the health system. He is also charged with giving $177,368 to Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., who used to work for MediSys, and giving him a job as a consultant.
Rosen allegedly put money in a hospice care service where indicted state Sen. Carl Kruger reaped some of the cash, according to prosecutors. Kruger is awaiting his own corruption trial along with former Parkway Hospital owner Dr. Robert Aquino and lobbyist Richard Lipsky.
After receiving some pieces of evidence from Morvillo, including a huge binder of minutes of board meetings between Jamaica Hospital and MediSys from 1998-2008, Judge Jed Rakoff scheduled a summations date for this Friday. Rakoff told the attorneys for both sides that he would be interrupting their closing arguments with questions and asked them to prepare accordingly.
If convicted of the charges, Rosen faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Update as per 8/18/11:
Federal prosecutors and the attorneys representing the former head of Jamaica Hospital’s parent company are now waiting for a judge to determine the administrator’s fate in his bribery and corruption trial.
source: http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/08/22/queens/qns_rosen_summations_20110818.txt
A copy of the press release from March, which lists the charges and the possible penalties: http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/March11/krugercarletalcomplaintpr.pdf
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Former Hospital Chief Convicted of Offering Bribes to Albany Legislators
NYT Article wrote:
By BENJAMIN WEISER
Published: September 12, 2011A former hospital chief executive was convicted on Monday in a far-reaching scheme to pay bribes to three New York State legislators in return for beneficial treatment toward his health care organization.
The trial of the former executive, David P. Rosen, 63, was the first to result from federal charges announced in March against eight defendants, casting light on the pervasive issue of corruption in Albany and the frequently cozy relationship between lawmakers and hospitals.
“This is a sad, even tragic case,” the judge, Jed S. Rakoff of Federal District Court in Manhattan, wrote in a 40-page decision, “as it reveals how a widely admired hospital administrator who diligently sought to better the health care of impoverished communities nonetheless chose to entangle himself in the bribing of state legislators.”
Mr. Rosen had asked for a speedy trial, putting pressure on federal prosecutors to build and argue their case in a far more compressed time frame than normal. The guilty verdict, however, illustrated the strength of the government’s evidence against him, and suggested that its case against his codefendants — who include two state lawmakers — may be equally as strong.
At his trial this summer, prosecutors presented evidence that Mr. Rosen had funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to two Democratic assemblymen, William F. Boyland Jr. of Brooklyn and Anthony S. Seminerio of Queens, through sham consulting contracts.
Mr. Rosen had also directed a lucrative contract to a hospice care company in a deal in which a third official, Senator Carl Kruger, a Democrat of Brooklyn, “got a cut” prosecutors said. Mr. Boyland and Mr. Kruger have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial; Mr. Seminerio, who had pleaded guilty to fraud in an earlier case, died in prison in January.
Judge Rakoff noted in his ruling that his findings and conclusions in the Rosen case were “in no way binding on the remaining defendants.” They include a prominent lobbyist, Richard J. Lipsky, a real estate developer, another hospital executive and a health care consultant; all have also pleaded not guilty, and are scheduled for trial in coming months.
A legal expert, Daniel C. Richman, a former prosecutor who teaches criminal law at Columbia, said the ruling will likely “be read by the defendants as testimony to the strength of the government’s case” and “might well spur some defendants to rethink going to trial.”
But Marc L. Mukasey, another former prosecutor who is now in private practice and has represented defendants in corruption cases, said the result of prior trials “might not have as much influence as you might think,” because political defendants have public reputations that could be irreparably damaged by a guilty plea.
Mr. Boyland is scheduled to be tried next, before Judge Rakoff, on Nov. 1. His lawyer, Richard H. Rosenberg, called the verdict disappointing, but added: “It’s not going to affect our decision. We’re going to trial.” Mr. Kruger’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said he was disappointed by the verdict but remained “confident that a jury will conclude that Mr. Kruger did not act with any corrupt motive or intent.”
In return for Mr. Rosen’s scheme, prosecutors charged that the three state officials had showered Mr. Rosen’s organization, MediSys Health Network, with state money and lobbied the government on his behalf. MediSys is a nonprofit sponsor of three hospitals as well as nursing homes and neighborhood health centers in Brooklyn and Queens. MediSys fired Mr. Rosen shortly after his indictment.
“If there were any doubt about the pervasive nature of public corruption in Albany, today’s multicount conviction of David Rosen should put it to rest once and for all,” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, said. “While this verdict is a very sad commentary on the state of affairs in Albany, it also should send a clear message that we will pursue those who violate the public trust.”
Mr. Rosen agreed to be tried alone and before Judge Rakoff rather than by a jury. Prosecutors said he faced a maximum of 70 years in prison, although under advisory sentencing guidelines he is likely to face far less.
His lead defense lawyer, Robert G. Morvillo, said: “After 40 years of diligent service to the health care community, David Rosen is devastated by the court’s findings. He consistently strived to ensure access to quality health care to the challenged communities in Queens and Brooklyn.”
“We are exploring Mr. Rosen’s available remedies,” Mr. Morvillo added.
Prosecutors charged that through the bogus deals, Mr. Rosen had MediSys pay Mr. Seminerio about $400,000 over the course of 10 years and Mr. Boyland more than $175,000 between 2003 and 2008. “David Rosen set out to buy himself premium access, premium influence with the state government on which his hospitals so critically depended for money, for growth, for staying power,” a prosecutor, Michael S. Bosworth, told the judge in his summation.
Mr. Morvillo had argued in court that his client did not have the need or motive to bribe anyone. “David Rosen had access to whoever he wanted to in Albany,” Mr. Morvillo said.
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End result: Hospitals that are losing money in NYS may no longer be able to bribe state officials to keep them afloat.
The hospitals may be forced to close, causing thousands of people to lose care.
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In January 2011, Medisys controlled FOUR failing hospitals: Peninsula (in the Rockaways), Flushing, Jamaica, and Brookdale (in Brownsville).
1. Peninsula has been taken over by a specialized health care group, in an attempt to cater to those whom have insurance. It is no longer part of Medisys.
2. Flushing is expected to survive, because it serves a population that is, for the most part, not dependent upon Medicaid.
3. Jamaica serves a patient base that is dependent upon Medicaid or uninsured. It posted losses of over $75M last fiscal year, but it is the closest hospital to JFK Airport. How does one go about letting it fail?
4. Brookdale has lost money for literally decades, and serves an impoverished population that depends on Medicaid or has "no method of payment". It will likely close first, making the nearby city hospital (Kings County) even busier.
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Now that he has been found guilty, David Rosen is awaiting sentencing
Over the next few weeks, he will be asked if he is willing to:
a. provide evidence re: his former underlings in Medisys, and/or
b. provide evidence re: bribery by other hospital corporations in NYC and NYS.
In exchange for providing such evidence, he will receive a lighter sentence.
If he takes these offers, we could experience a wave of hospital closings that were previously thwarted by bribery.
Without bribery, the state money stops.
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As those of who have been following this case patiently wait for the prosecutors and Mr. Rosen's defense attorneys to create a sentencing deal, the Daily News has decided to a write an article on
other people who are alleged to have bribed Mr Kruger.Mr. Kruger's trial has not yet begun. A basic knowledge of how government function has led me to conclude even a high powered politician (like Mr Kruger) is unable to make things happen on his/her own.
Likewise, even a high powered hospital exec (like Mr Rosen) is unable to make things happen on his/her own.
I hope the FBI has the time and resources needed to take down the other Mr. Krugers, and the other Mr. Rosens. I hope Mr. Rosen and Mr Kruger rat out everyone they know.
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The trial of Assemblymember William Boyland begins today.
I predict it will star David Rosen, and his performance will influence how he is ultimately sentenced.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204394804577012461256946048.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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Coverage of the trial of Mr. Boyland.
http://thebrooklynink.com/2011/11/04/34452-brooklyn-political-dynasty-on-trial/
Go on, don't be afraid to to look.
It is actually good as many people to know about this as possible. This is reality.
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Note: Brookdale in Brownsville is one of the failing hospitals, and is "even more" likely to go under because it is no longer able to get state bail out funds, because it is no longer able to bribe state officials.
....given enough time I'm sure some politician will again make themselves available for bribes, but I'm not sure we have that kind of time!
Takeway: It will soon suck EVEN MORE to be a unhealthy person who is poor in Brooklyn.
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Verdict for Assemblymember Boyland; Not guilty
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More on the pending mergers: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/nyregion/panel-urges-sharp-change-for-hospitals-in-brooklyn.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion
The report calls for Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, in East Flatbush, to lead in establishing an integrated system with Brookdale, in Brownsville, under a new executive and board of directors.
Critics point out that combining ailing hospitals has rarely created healthy ones in Brooklyn, where more than one in five residents live below the poverty line, two in five receive Medicaid, and many have no primary care physician.
The 88-page report noted that some of the hospitals’ problems were beyond their control. But without naming names, the report was also sharply critical of the boards of some of the endangered hospitals for adopting a failed strategy “that seeks merely to be the last man standing in their communities.”
“They have not evaluated financial and clinical performance, set strategic goals to address them, and held management accountable,” the report said.
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whynot_31 said:
Verdict for Assemblymember Boyland; Not guiltyNot so fast!
Boyland Faces New Charges
Less than three weeks after a jury found Brooklyn Assemblymember William Boyland not guilty of bribery, federal prosecutors yesterday leveled a new, but similar set of charges against him. This time, prosecutors say, Boyland, a member of a prominent political family, solicited bribes when he was out on bail on the previous case -- needing the money, he said in a secretly recorded conversation, to finance his criminal defense. Overall, the case accuses Boyland of soliciting some $250,000 in bribes dating back to August 2010. U.S. attorney Loretta Lynch called the corruption "staggering." Boyland's lawyer said he would "vigorously defend this case." If convicted, Boyland faces up to 30 years in prison.
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Ex-MediSys Chief Executive David Rosen will be sentenced on Dec. 20, 2012.
Crains wrote:
The topic of his sentencing came up at a recent board meeting of GNYHA, for which Mr. Rosen was a former officer of the board of governors and a past chairman. Board members discussed how this was an opportunity to write their own letters to the judge asking for leniency for Mr. Rosen, based on his public service record. “It was a personal decision they could make,” said a GNYHA spokesman.On a related matter, six months have passed since the MediSys Health Network announced that its board hired former U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter to conduct what it called a comprehensive review of the organization's policies, programs and procedures to ensure the overall integrity of its business operations. MediSys hasn't made public the status of that review.
source: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111031/PULSE/111029870
...does this remind anyone of, "We all bribe state officials, and we should be thankful we aren't in his situation. We should try to help Mr.Rosen in turn for not taking us down with him in an attempt to get a lesser sentence" ?
In light of the circumstances, it should be interesting whether the judge feels it is appropriate to make an example of Mr. Rosen.
P.S. If I am murdered at some point over the next months, it could be the result of publishing this thread on this obscure message board.
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State Senator Kruger is expected to plead guilty today, and will be sentenced at a later date.
David Rosen will reportedly be sentenced today, Dec 20th, 2011.
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Meanwhile, Brookdale Hospital is in the cross hairs of the NYS DOH and other agencies....
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204879004577106941283712650.html
In light of the community's need for the hospital, the only question is whether the will be able to force Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center that taking over Brookdale is a good idea; No one actually wants it.
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whynot_31 said:
State Senator Kruger is expected to plead guilty today, and will be sentenced at a later date.David Rosen will reportedly be sentenced today, Dec 20th, 2011.
The sentencing date was postponed. He will now be sentenced in early January, as will a recipient of the bribes....former chair of the NYS Senate Finance Committee, Mr Kruger.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/ny-state-senator-admits-taking-bribes
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NYT wrote: Yet another defendant, David P. Rosen, the former chief executive of an organization that runs hospitals in Brooklyn and Queens, was convicted last year of participating in a scheme to bribe Mr. Kruger, Mr. Boyland and a third politician, Anthony S. Seminerio, a Democratic assemblyman from Queens who has since died.
Mr. Rosen’s lawyers have asked that he receive probation with community service, while prosecutors say he should receive “a substantial” sentence “commensurate with the significance and gravity” of his conduct. The final defendant, Solomon Kalish, a health care consultant who has been recovering from heart surgery, is scheduled for trial in April.
When a hospital exec bribes government officials to keep a network of failing hospitals open in low income neighborhoods, it would seem understandable.
When a hospital exec bribes government officials to keep a network of failing hospitals open in low income neighborhoods, while receiving annual compensation of $1.5 million, I am not as lenient.
I have heard David Rosen is to be sentenced tomorrow.
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But, was he bribing the officials to keep the hospitals open because he knew the poor would have no place else to go and would receive less care? Or was he doing it to save his own salary. And whose money was he using for the bribes. That's what I'd like to know.
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