Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine to Meet August 5 Via Teleconference; Again on August 12 In Palm Beach

The Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine will meet on August 5 via teleconference and again on August 12 in Palm Beach at The Breakers Hotel. Both meetings are open to the public and agendas and meeting materials are provided via hyperlink below.

As part of the August 12 agenda, the Board will discuss Florida's new "Docs and Glocks" law (HB 155) and consider various applications for new chiropractic licensure.


August 5, 2011- Telephone Conference Call

• FAW Notice (pdf - 19kb)
• General Agenda (pdf - 7kb)

August 12, 2011 Meeting in Palm Beach at the Breakers

• FAW Notice (pdf - 19kb)
• Disciplinary Agenda (pdf - 10kb)
• General Agenda (pdf - 7kb)

Notice of August 5 Meeting/Workshop Hearing

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Board of Chiropractic

The Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine announces a telephone conference call to which all persons are invited.
DATE AND TIME: Friday, August 5, 2011, 9:00 a.m.
PLACE: Department of Health, 4042 Bald Cypress Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3257; Meet Me Number: 1(888)808-6959, Conference Code: 9849329103

GENERAL SUBJECT MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED: General board business.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 48 hours before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Sherra W. Causey. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).

If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered at this meeting or hearing, he/she will need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceeding is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence from which the appeal is to be issued.


Notice of August 12 Meeting/Workshop Hearing

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Board of Chiropractic

The Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine announces a public meeting to which all persons are invited.

DATE AND TIME: Friday, August 12, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
PLACE: The Breakers, 1 South County Road, Palm Beach, Florida 33480, (561)655-6611

GENERAL SUBJECT MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED: General board business.



Broward County Chiropractor Dr. Troy Lomasky heads Coast Chiropractic of Wilton Manors, Florida. A graduate of the famed New York Chiropractic College, he specializes in quickly treating pain from a variety of conditions. Services include: Consultation, X-ray, spinal adjustments & massage therapy, physiotherapy, spinal decompression for disc problems; spinal and muscular rehabilitation. New patients & same-day appointments available. (954) 463-3036 or www.chiropractorwiltonmanors.com. On-call for emergencies 24 hours. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.

Florida Governor Rick Scott Wants to Make Personal Protection Injury Coverage (PIP) Optional

From The Miami Herald's "Naked Politics" Blog on July 29, 2011:


Rick Scott:  Make PIP insurance coverage optional

Drivers should be able to choose whether they want personal injury protection as part of their auto insurance, Gov. Rick Scott told a Miami Spanish-language radio station Friday morning.

“We’ve got to pass a law that allows citizens the choice of what type of automobile insurance coverage they want,” Scott said on En Caliente (In the Heat), the popular morning show on WAQI-AM (710).

His response came to a question from co-host Ninoska Pérez-Castellón about what the state can do to lower auto insurance fraud, namely staged car accidents. Fraud would go down if drivers weren’t required to purchase policies with medical claims coverage, Scott said.

The state requires drivers to carry $10,000 worth of insurance so accident injuries are covered regardless of which driver causes the accident.

"If we allow the person who's going to buy the insurance to decide whether they want that insurance or not, then people won't buy it because that's too expensive and they don't need it," Scott said.

--PATRICIA MAZZEI AND JANET ZINK

Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/07/rick-scott-make-pip-insurance-coverage-optional.html#ixzz1TiVTWlw1

Broward County Chiropractor Dr. Troy Lomasky heads Coast Chiropractic of Wilton Manors, Florida. A graduate of the famed New York Chiropractic College, he specializes in quickly treating pain from a variety of conditions.  Services include:  Consultation, X-ray, spinal adjustments & massage therapy, physiotherapy, spinal decompression for disc problems; spinal and muscular rehabilitation.  New patients & same-day appointments available.   (954) 463-3036 or www.chiropractorwiltonmanors.com.  On-call for emergencies 24 hours.  Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.

Feds: Fake Philadelphia chiropractor made $1.1 million in false claims

From http://www.philly.com/
The Philadelphia Inquirer

July 27, 2011
Staff Report, Inquirer Staff Writer

A man operating a Center City holistic healing clinic has been indicted on charges of not only tricking patients into believing he was a chiropractor, but also submitting claims for treatments he never carried out.

Tahib Smith Ali, 34, is charged with 150 counts of health care fraud, filing false medical statements, and aggravated identity theft.

Ali, of Northeast Philadelphia, turned himself into federal authorities this morning and was ordered to surrender his passport and a hunting rifle at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Timothy Rice.

Rice released Ali on a recognizance bond of $50,000 and continued the case until next week, when Ali said his attorney will be available.

Prosecutors say Ali submitted bills to Independence Blue Cross between 2009 and 2010 as he was posing as a chiropractor and physical therapist.

He then submitted claims, using the name of a licensed chiropractor who once owned the clinic on the posh 300 block of South 17th Street, the indictment says. But Ali, who was not licensed, had purchased the clinic in December, 2008.

The indictment alleges that starting in January, 2009, Ali began billing for services that were either not provided, or for patient visits that never occurred.

Prosecutors say he presented himself to patients as a chiropractor, going so far as to wear scrubs, while performing spinal manipulations and muscle stretches.

In all, the indictment said, he submitted more than $1 million in claims. Authorities say he went so far as to hire a real chiropractor. He would then submit bills in his own name for work carried out by the real chiropractor, according to the indictment.

Ali faces a mandatory sentence of 2 years in prison for each aggravated identity theft count, a statutory maximum of 10 years for each health care fraud count, and five years for each count false statements count, plus up to $25 million in fines.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Beth Leahy.


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Nathan Gorenstein contributed to this article.
To view this article online, go to:  http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-27/news/29820986_1_chiropractor-health-care-fraud-identity-theft