And We Wonder Why the Cost of Care in McAllen Is so High?

McAllen, Texas, has the second-highest medical costs in the country, behind only Miami. Fraud on the part of caregivers drives up the cost immeasurably. Here's another late-breaking round of arrests from that unfortunate region. See the Zemanta box below for a few more examples. Incidents involving lawmakers and those who enforce the law are particularly troubling.

State Rep. Rios Ybarra indicted for Medicaid fraud | state, medicaid, ybarra - Breaking News - Valley Morning Star

FBI agents arrested the 38-year-old lawmaker Thursday morning on charges of accepting illegal kickbacks for referring patients to a McAllen oral surgeon, a violation of the federally funded health care program’s rules.

Prosecutors allege she took money from Gary Morgan Schwarz, owner of Valley Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery center in McAllen, between August and November 2008 for patients sent his way.

Agents arrested Schwarz and two other dentists –- Willis David Egger, of McAllen, and Reynaldo Casares, of La Joya -- Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the scheme.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Medical Costs: a Tale of Two Texas Cities (reamy.typepad.com)
• Valley lawmaker indicted on Medicaid fraud charge (mysanantonio.com)
• Couple charged with Medicaid fraud in Texas town highlighted for exorbitant health care costs (trueslant.com)
• Texas judge accused of stealing traffic fine money (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Documentation on UT Southwestern & Parkland Surgeries (reamy.typepad.com)
• More on UTMB's Mentally Ill Patients and Police Trainees (reamy.typepad.com)