THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MONEY MACHINE THE DESTRUCTION OF HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA & THE RISE OF MEDICAL TOURISM JAMES R. GOLDBERG Copyright ©2009 by James R. Goldberg Mexico City|Puerto Vallarta Homunculus Press S.R.L de C.V. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Published by Homunculus S.A. de C.V. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Goldberg, James R. The American Medical Money Machine: The Destruction of Healthcare in America and the Rise of Medical Tourism James R. Goldberg. Categories Healthcare - Political Sciens - Current Affairs ISBN 978-0-615-31887-5 24681097531 First Edition - Rev. 02-10 Jain Lemos, Editing Consultant Cover design by Brittany Jackson ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. JAMES R. GOLDBERG, has served as a senior level executive and CEO with deep experience in running early and mid-stage technologically complex businesses with a major focus in healthcare. He has been a Principal of one of the world’s leading technology/business consultancies, the PA Consulting Group, based in London, England. He served as Executive Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories healthcare initiative, a U.S. Defense Research Laboratory program aimed at converting military technology into medical wonders. Jim has invented over 12 technologies that have received U.S. and International Patents. Goldberg earned his undergraduate and advanced degrees at Michigan State University, New York University, Stanford University and European study programs including the Sorbonne, France, The University of Mainz, Germany and the University of Madrid, Spain. www.theamericanmedicalmoneymachine.com www.bumrungraddeath.com telephone call from Bangkok brought the shocking news that the author’s A only child, Joshua, was dead. He was twenty-three years old. That call set in motion a cascade of shocking events and discoveries revealed by James R. Goldberg in The American Medical Money Machine: A double murder has occurred—the murder of Joshua and the murder of medical care in the United States. Recounting the details surrounding the death of his son, Goldberg quickly discovers that terrible forces are at play—forces armed with unlimited money and power—whose only ambition is to cover up and protect the alleged perpetrators in the United States, half a globe away from the scene of the crime in Bangkok. Goldberg’s three-year examination is meticulously documented. The murders his investigation reveals not only the actual causes for the death of his son but also a vast and previously undiscovered ring of corruption in America. To add even further dimension, plans have been laid for decades by the American insurance cartel to send patients overseas for cheaper care. This foreign care will significantly increase profits for the cartel while providing no assurances of safety or recourse for injured patients. Frustrated after attempts in Thailand to find justice for his son are disregarded, Goldberg turns to alternative American authorities and organizations for assistance. Pursuing answers and pleas for assistance, Goldberg runs head on into The Joint Commission (JC), a quasi-governmental U.S. agency charged with accrediting hospitals. The JC actively conceals information, obstructs justice and protects Bumrungrad, one of the hospitals it had accredited and is obligated to monitor and police. Based on a tip, Goldberg expands his investigation into organ harvesting and trafficking. A frightening new question arises: Were his son’s precious young organs the motive behind his murder? As Goldberg painstakingly traces organ-harvesting practices in South East Asia, mounting evidence points to organ theft as the motive for murder. The American Medical Money Machine weaves two stories and brings us all to a comprehensive intersection; we are shown the reasons behind the current crisis in the United States health care system as well as the way in which Medical Tourism is being aggressively marketed as a solution to this crisis. Goldberg makes it clear that understanding the odious intentions of the Money Machine is the first step in making informed decisions about what to do next. IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. CONTENTS Dedication Acknowledgements & Comments 11 International Forward 13 Prelude ~ The Nightmare 29 One ~ No Mistake 30 Two ~ Doing The Necessary 34 Three ~ Meeting Murderers 40 Four ~ Bumrungrad: “Bummers” to the Locals 63 Five ~ Tenet Healthcare: Masters of Deceit? 76 Six ~ Chairman Chai 88 Seven ~ The Star Tangled Banner 92 Eight ~ The U.S. Wins at Losing 114 Nine ~ The 50-Year Racket of the Joint Commission 123 Ten ~ United States of Healthcare Fraud 141 Eleven ~ The Cartel Kings: A History of the Dammed 145 Twelve ~ Data Control and Mind Control=Total Control 158 Thirteen ~ The Crucifixion of Doctors in America 172 Fourteen ~ The Mediated State 177 Fifteen ~ The Killing 204 Sixteen ~ World Access: Medical Assistance 236 Seventeen ~ Organ Trafficking 248 Eighteen ~ Medical Tourism, Your 15 Minutes of Fame Is Over 268 Nineteen ~ Reflections and Projections 286 Twenty ~ Eulogy 312 Afterwards ~ Remembering History and Keeping Promises 318 SupplementA~User’sGuidetoMedical Tourism 320 SupplementB~Visiting Us Online 323 SupplementC~InTraining 324 Bibliography 328 Appendix/References 334 Index 372 Dedication For My Son, Joshua His Laughter Can be Heard by Anyone Listening to the Wind..... THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MONEY MACHINE Acknowledgements & Comments I like books that allow for a quick read. I want to get the big picture and usually do not have time or patience for anything less. Yet, once my attention is captured and if my interest deepens, I want to uncover more. I imagine that you, my readers, feel the same. In undertaking the writing of this complex story—really, many stories within one story—I want to extend to you the same courtesy that I wish many authors would extend to me. I have structured my book so that my narrative and major points are found in the primary text font. My thoughts, reflections, questions and conclusions are written for a fast read. Secondary and tertiary information, such as reports, excerpts, footnotes, bullet points and charts, are presented in alternate fonts. I’ve done this in the hope that if a point piques your interest, you can delve deeper, at your own choice. Further references may be discovered on: www.theamericanmedicalmoneymachine.com, www.bumrungraddeath.com I make no pretense that this work is a traditional, academically researched story. However, I have been as robust as possible in supporting each of the claims made. Many of them challenge common wisdom and provide a dramatic counter-view to the prevailing “mindset.” I have endeavored to tell a complex story in the following pages. In order to gain a full understanding of my assertions it is necessary to read the entire book. Like many novels, the story does not become clear until the very end. This is the case with The American Medical Money Machine. Also, to keep the pace of the book fast, a page turner, if you will, I have placed very important information in the appendix. The information that resides at the end of the book is there to be read 11 THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MONEY MACHINE and understood. It supplies details and facts which directly support the text. I urge you to read these important notes. Thanks to the inspiration and courage of Noam Chomsky for his brilliant and insightful analysis of the hegemonic direction that the United States has taken. Michael Moore is applauded for his film,Sicko , which highlights snippets of a much larger story, which I have endeavored here to tell in far deeper and broader depth. Deep thanks are only one small way of expressing my gratitude to Dr. Anna Feldman Vertkin, M.D, Jain Lemos, Andrea Augenblick, Kent Allen, Brittany Jackson, John Joss, Alistair Henderson, Helen Haskell, my anonymous advisers in Bangkok and the millions of visitors to Joshua’s website,www.bunrungraddeath.com. They have brought me wisdom, direction and at times, comfort. Thanks also to those who provided their own personal case histories. I extend appreciation to those, who at great risk provided inside information regarding the workings of Bumrungrad Hospital and the Joint Commission. I am grateful for the many thoughtful conversations I have had with Walt Bogdanich, three time Pulitzer Prize winner of the New York Times. Gratitude is also appropriate for the courtesies shown to me by Emilia DiSanto, assistant to Senator Charles Grassley, Senate Finance Committee. Leslie June Taylor Randolph has my ever-lasting admiration. She pushed me over the edge to confront my demons and helped me summon the courage to dedicate myself to completing this work. It has not been easy re-living, through writing and countless edits, the death of my son. I made a promise to him, and to you, that I would. Deep wishes for happiness for the dozens of Josh’s friends who rallied to celebrate his life. 12 THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MONEY MACHINE INTERNATIONAL FORWARD INTERNATIONAL FORWARD Do not be misled by the title of this book: The American Medical Money Machine is concerned with the effects of a vast and worldwide problem. The birth of the problem was in the United States. The consequences of the problem are international. No country, developed or not, is immune from the ramifications of the insidious greed and contempt found in America as it relates to healthcare. Corruption is not the only problem afflicting healthcare in the United States and elsewhere. Massive public service departments overwhelm tax payers and deprive patients such as in Great Britain, where, by the year 2007, more than 600,000 non-medical workers swamped its National Health System.