Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sen. Bob Menendez Indicted On Bribery, Conspiracy Charges
The New York Times: Senator Robert Menendez Indicted On Corruption Charges
The indictment, the first federal bribery charges against a sitting senator in a generation, puts Mr. Menendez’s political future in jeopardy. He faces a possible sentence of 15 years in prison for each of the eight bribery counts. ... The charges revolve around Mr. Menendez’s relationship with Dr. Salomon E. Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye surgeon and political benefactor. (Apuzzo, 4/1)
Los Angeles Times: Menendez Vows To Fight Bribery, Conspiracy Charges
According to the indictment, between January 2006 and January 2013 Menendez accepted close to $1 million in “lavish gifts and campaign contributions” from Melgen in exchange for helping Melgen in contractual and Medicare billing disputes worth tens of millions of dollars to the doctor. (Serrano, Phelps and Mascaro, 4/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Indicts Sen. Bob Menendez on Corruption Charges
Mr. Menendez allegedly pushed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to get a more favorable ruling in Dr. Melgen’s Medicare billing dispute. Beginning around June 2009, the indictment said, Mr. Menendez and his staff began advocating on behalf of Dr. Melgen. Mr. Menendez and his staff met directly with the Department of Health and Human Services and CMS, according to the complaint. In July 2009, Mr. Menendez had a call with the acting principal deputy of CMS about the matter, according to the complaint. (Grossman and Dawsey, 4/1)
Politico: Florida's Third Senator
Menendez allegedly pressured federal health officials to drop an $8.9 million fine against the eye doctor for overbilling Medicare, used his influence to advance a lucrative port-security deal in the Dominican Republic for a firm owned by Melgen, and threw his weight around to help three of Melgen’s foreign girlfriends get help entering the United States. (Caputo, 4/1)
The Washington Post: Sen. Robert Menendez Indicted On Corruption Charges
In early June 2012, Melgen issued a check for $300,000 for the Majority PAC. ... That same month, the senator went to bat for Melgen again, this time on behalf of his eye clinics, with top officials in the Department of Health and Human Services who oversaw Medicare reimbursements and whose auditors had concluded Melgen had overbilled the federal health program for eye medications he used in his clinic. Menendez, using talking points created by Melgen’s lobbyist, talked by phone on July 2 to the acting administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about her agency’s policy for reimbursing physicians such as Melgen, who used a single vial of medication multiple times, sometimes for multiple patients. ... The senator next had his staff arrange a meeting with then-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, which occurred in August 2012 at the behest of Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who was majority leader at the time. (Kane and Leonnig, 4/1)
