Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Detroit-Area Cancer Doctor Faces Possible Life In Prison
The Associated Press: 'Stunning' Number Of Large Drug Doses By Doctor, Expert Says
Patients of a Detroit-area doctor received "stunning" doses of a powerful, expensive drug that exposed them to life-threatening infections, an expert testified Monday as a judge heard details about a cancer specialist who fleeced insurance companies and harmed hundreds of people. Dr. Farid Fata is headed to prison for fraud and other crimes. But U.S. District Judge Paul Borman first is hearing from experts and former patients about the extent of his scheme to reap millions of dollars from Medicare and other health programs. (White, 7/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Cancer Doctor Farid Fata Faces Potential Life In Prison
Marietta Crabtree dabbed her teary eyes with tissue while she clutched a printout of the words her husband never had a chance to speak against Dr. Farid Fata. The cancer doctor—who pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud in September after being accused of giving hundreds of patients unnecessary or inappropriate treatments, including chemotherapy—potentially faces life in prison in a federal sentencing hearing that began Monday. (Dolan, 7/6)
Detroit Free Press/USA Today: Witness: Cancer Doctor's Treatment 'Over The Top'
A metro Detroit doctor who raked in millions of dollars committing fraud against insurance companies grossly over treated hundreds of patients, sometimes giving nearly four times the recommended dosage amount of aggressive cancer drugs, a government witness testified Monday in federal court. Dozens of victims and their families packed into a courtroom and overflow rooms to face Dr. Farid Fata, 50, who has admitted to reaping millions through the treatments. (Stafford, 7/6)
