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'Out of Control' Child Abuse Docs; Harvard Chair Arrested; $116K Hernia Repair

— This past week in healthcare investigations

MedpageToday

Welcome to the latest edition of Investigative Roundup, highlighting some of the best investigative reporting on healthcare each week.

'Out of Control' Child Abuse Docs

After an emergency department physician had his newborn baby taken away, other doctors at Children's Wisconsin hospital are warning that their child abuse pediatrician team is "out of control," .

Last May, John Cox, MD, fell asleep with his adopted baby daughter on his chest, and woke up to the child screaming. She seemed fine, but to be safe he brought her to the pediatrician, who also worked at Children's Wisconsin.

Child abuse pediatricians there raised concerns about tiny bruises -- some of which turned out to be birthmarks -- and the baby was eventually taken from Cox and his wife, Sadie Dobrozsi, MD, a pediatric oncologist at the hospital. Now, eight months after the child was removed by Child Protective Services, a prosecutor has filed felony abuse charges against Cox.

Yet 15 medical experts who later reviewed the case said they saw no real harm, NBC News and the Houston Chronicle reported.

"Taking her to our own hospital was the single most harmful decision that we made for our baby," Cox told the news outlets.

Some doctors at the hospital say they're so alarmed by Cox's story that they're now hesitant to have children evaluated by their child abuse pediatricians. Three doctors at Children's Wisconsin even said they were pressured by child abuse pediatricians there to alter medical records.

"Essentially they've asked us to edit medical records to help the state prosecute parents. It's completely inappropriate," one doctor said.

The story is the latest in an ongoing series by the news outlets investigating the relatively new subspecialty of child abuse pediatricians.

Harvard Chemistry Chair Arrested for Lying About Chinese Ties

Yet another researcher has been taken down in the national campaign to root out Chinese theft of American intellectual property, .

Charles Lieber, PhD, chair of Harvard's chemistry department, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with making a false statement to federal authorities about his financial relationships with the Chinese government -- notably, that he hid his membership in the Thousand Talents program, a Chinese campaign to draw in foreign-educated scientists.

For years, authorities say, he denied his associations with Wuhan University in China and with the Thousand Talents program. Harvard discovered his relationship with the Wuhan lab in 2015, and in 2018, he lied to the Department of Defense -- which had given him some $8 million in grant money -- saying he'd never been invited to participate in the Thousand Talents program, according to the Times.

Two other scientists were charged with crimes on Tuesday. Cancer researcher Zaosong Zheng is accused of smuggling goods and making false statements, after previously being caught leaving with cell vials stolen from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. Yangqing Ye was charged with visa fraud, making false statements, acting as an agent of a foreign government, and conspiracy, though she wasn't arrested because she was in China. Prosecutors said Ye hid fact that she was a lieutenant in the People's Liberation Army and worked for Chinese military officers while at Boston University.

The Times said Lieber's arrest signaled a new, more aggressive phase in the U.S. campaign against Chinese influence in research. Last month, top officials at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, were forced to resign for not disclosing financial relationships with China and the Thousand Talents program.

$116K Hernia Repair

A hospital in Virginia is charging one patient $116,000 for a double hernia repair -- a routine outpatient procedure that took only about an hour and a half, .

Jeff Samford said he was shocked to get the bill from Henrico Doctors' Hospital, especially after his research indicated that he should expect to pay something like $10,000 to $20,000.

He even thought it was excessive when his insurance company, Liberty HealthShare -- a non-profit Christian ministry organization -- pre-approved a payment up to $50,000.

But now parent company HCA Virginia says Samford still owes a balance of about $67,000.

WTVR reported that Samford is being treated as an uninsured patient, facing the full rack-rate for services because Liberty HealthShare isn't a traditional health insurer.

When reporters asked HCA Virginia about Samford's bill, they sent this statement: "We are dedicated to serving our patients and are committed to assisting with individual matters until they are fully resolved." It also declined an interview with CEO Ryan Jensen.

Self-Insured Companies Don't Save Money

Companies that self-insure their healthcare coverage don't do a better job of controlling costs than those relying on insurance companies,

At traditionally insured companies, the average family premium was $20,627 -- hardly different from the $20,739 price tag for self-insured companies. There's been no meaningful difference in those averages for the past two decades, Axios reported.

What's preventing them from driving healthcare costs lower? For one, big companies can be spread across the country and around the world, which could ding their bargaining power.

Another dynamic that could be at play: company CEOs often serve on the boards of the hospitals and rub elbows with the doctors where they live. Truly tackling the cost problem would mean targeting those in their social circles.