House of Representatives Ninety-Sixth Congress Second Session
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. 'I FRAUDS AGAINST THE ELDERLY: HEALTH QUACKERY = HEARING BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINETY-SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION OCTOBER 1, 1980 Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Aging Comm. Pub. No. 96-251 \ u.s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1980 1 1 ----~-~- --- -------- 1 1 ~ '1 , i 1 1 1 1 CONTENTS 1 MEMBERS OPENING STATEMENTS 1 Page Chairman Claude Pepper .............................................................................................. 1 1 Charles E. Grassley ........................................................................................................ 2 Don Bonker ...................................................................................................................... 3 SELECT COMMITl'EE ON AGING David W. Evans ............................................................................................................... 3 1 PPER Florida, Chairman Mary Rose Oakar ............................................................................................................ 4 ?LA"?DE PE 'CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa, Geraldine A. Ferraro ...................................................................................................... 6 1 EDWARD R ROYBAL, Cahforma Ranking Minority kfember .' 6 ~~~i:~!g~~::~~~.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 6 r::~O :ttn~~\¥~e~o;:kcarolina f6~A~SL ~i~~::sc~~~~~, Arkansas William C. Wampler ...................................................................................................... .. 7 1 JOHN'L BURTON, California JAMES ABDNOR, South Dakota James Abdnor .................................................................................................................. 7 ONKER, Washington MATTHEW J. RINALDO, New. J ersey Norman D. Shumway ..................................................................................................... 8 ~~~JAS J. DOWNEY, New York MARC L. MARKS, Penn~ylvama 1 JAMES J FLORIO, New Jersey RALPH S. REGULA, OhlO . CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES ROLD' E FORD, Tennessee ROBERT K. DORNAN, Cahforma J HA . UGHES New Jersey D C HOLLENBECK, New ersey Fletcher F. Acord, Assistant Chief Postal Inspector, Criminal Investigations; 1 ~~~{~ Ji1:OYD BOUQUARD, Tennessee ~A~?il,IAM GREEN, New York accompanied by Michael A. Gump, Postal Inspector in Charge, Special NI Nevada . ERT (BOB) WHITTAKER, Kansas Investigations Division, and Wayne Kidd, Manager, Fraud Branch, Office of 1 Jl~~~,¥ DEINAN, Massachusetts ~~MAN D. SHUMWAY, California Criminal Investigations, U.S. Postal Service ........................................................ .. 10 ~AVID W. 'EVANS, In~iana LARRY J. HOPKINS, Ken~uckY Lena Rosenberg, Philadelphia, Pa.; accompanied by Steven Kaplan, assistant ARTY RUSSO Illinols OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Mame . district attorney, Philadelphia, Pa........................................................................... 31 1 ~TANLEY N. dJNDlNE, ~ew York DANIEL E. LUNGREN, Califorma Don Harbour, Oklahoma City, Okla ............................................................................ 34 Robert White, Panama City, Fla .................................................................................. 35 MARY ROSE OAKAR, OhlO 1 ELIZABETH HO~TZ~AN, New York Joseph P. Hile, Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, and Head, JIM LLOYD, Cahforma . Standing Committee on Quackery; accompanied by Diana W. McNair, THOMAS A. LUKEN, OhlO Acting Chief, Consumer and RegUlatory Affairs, and Jeffrey B. Springer, 1 WES WATKINS, Oklahoma . Deputy Chief Counsel, Food and Drug Administration ....................................... 38 LAMAR GUDGER, North Carohna Dr. Jane Henney, Special Assistant for Cancer Treatment, National Cancer GERALDINE A. FERRARO, New York Institute, Rockville, Md ............................................................................................. 45 1 Y B BYRON Maryland Dr. Wilbur J. Blechman, diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine BEVERL R' RATCHFORD Connecticut WILLIA.M ' and Rheumatology, representing the Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, Ga......... 54 1 DAN MICA, Florida . EDWARD J. STACK, Flon~a . ApPENDIX HENRY A. WAXMAN, Cahforma 1 MIKE SYNAR, Oklahoma l' Additional material received for the record: EUGENE V. ATKINSON, Pennsy va~aEDWARDS III, Chief of Staff Documents submitted for the record by Lena Rosenberg .............................. .. 59 Documents submitted for the record by Don Harbour .................................... 62 1 ~~:~~. RIEMER, Deputy Ch.ief of Stafr "Prescription and Administration of Selected Drugs in a Nursing Home," VAL J HALAMANDARIS, Senwr Couns~ . Assistant to the Chatrman a study submitted by Carol Ann Miller .......................................................... 63 \ 1 JAMES A. BRENNAN,p D Minority Staff Director WALTER A. GUNTHARP, H. ., '(lII) 1 (II) • 1 U.S. Department of Justi~e t. National Institute of Justice 1 roduced exactly as received from the This document .has. bee~ ~ep r it Points of view or opinions stated 1 person or organization ongma mg. thors and do not necessarily in this document. ~rel tho.st.e nOfo~hpeo~~ies of the National Institute of represent the offlcla pOSl 10 . 1 Justice. Permission to reproduce this GtlP9'llglJ.ili material has been 1 granted by t ]2nblic Domain/US Governmen 1 1 to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permis sion of the 0«" iilbt owner. FRAUDS AGAINST THE ELDERLY: HEALTH QUACKERY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1980 u.s. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGING, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m, in room 2322, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Claude Pepper (chairman of the committee) presiding. Members present: Representatives Pepper of Florida, Roybal of California, Bonker of Washington, Hughes of New Jersey, Drinan of Massachusetts, Evans of Indiana, Oakar of Ohio, Ferraro of New York, Grassley of Iowa, and Shumway of California. Staff present: Charles H. Edwards III, chief of staff; Val IIala mandaris, senior counsel; David Holton, chief investigator; Kath leen Gardner, professional staff; Nancy Smythe, investigative re searcher, of the Select Committee on Aging; and Pete Conroy, minority staff director, Subcommittee on Human Services. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN CLAUDE PEPPER The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order, please. Our hearing today has for its subject a very interesting, some times amusing, and altogether very tragic subject. It concerns fraud against the elderly, particularly in the area which means so much to the elderly-their health and their life. It is a pleaSure to welcome you to the hearing this morning at which the committee will examine the subject of frauds against the elderly, with particular emphasis on medical frauds. Every year thousands of older Americans spend millions of dol lars in search of miracles that never happen. Driven by pain and despair, many older Americans fall victim to con men who tout elixirs, remedies, and fraudulent treatments. Some of these reme dies are ridiculous but cause no harm. Others are downright dan gerous and may result in injury or death. \ The list of phony cures, devices, and remedies is endless. There is holy water from Lourdes which sells for $2.98. It really comes from a pond in southern California and it has no special curative powers. There are promoters who will sell you cocaine or some form of novocaine as a guaranteed cure for arthritis. Some promoters sell special diets of watermelon rind juice or yucca as a cure-all. Other promoters counsel victims to refrain from eating altogether for long periods of time, or that patients should refrain from eating certain foods like potatoes and toma toes. (1) 3 2 Such people are fair game to quacks, the charlatans and the fly by-night con artists who prey on the misery, the fears, and the There are some people who charge for putting live bees and ants I on the arthritic knees of the elderly and inducing the insects to trust of the elderly. bite. Still other people peddle vitamin cures or copper bracelets or In thhl hearing we shall look forward to gaining a better under health slippers purportedly containing uranium ore. standing of the nature and the extent of this vicious practice. Of The range of worthless devices also includes something called a greater importance, however, we hope to obtain guidance and rec plasmatic therapy instrument which is nothing more than a large ommendations that will help us to develop 'corrective measures. plastic body bag that the patient crawls into. Then there is a I appreciate the qualifications of our witnesses and look forward version of the health slippers which comes equipped with an elec to their testimony. tric cord so that they can be plugged into a wall socket. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Grassley. The Oxydoner, as it is called, is a stainless steel tube which is Jl-JIr. Bonker? touted to reverse the death process. The Spectrochrome is a device STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE DON BONKER which was very much in vogue over the last 15 years. It is in essence a light bulb and different colored filters fitted into a stain Mr. BONKER. I want to thank you once again for sponsoring these less steel box. The patient uses this device only when facing north, hearings. In fact, during this past Congress we have seen through a when the Moon