kaiserfraud ([info]corphq) wrote,
@ 2006-12-24 18:50:00
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Entry tags:justen deal, kaiser permanente, kaiser workers

Hospitals Required to Train Whistleblowers!
The U.S. government is going to bat for health care fraud whistleblowers. It's a Christmas miracle!

The funniest part of that article is where representatives of the health care industry disassociate "technical non-compliance" from breaking the law.

I'm now taking bets on how long it will take Kaiser to implode under the weight of it's own enablement of "technical non-compliance". Kaiser already has a policy of non-retaliation: it's just that neither managers or their HR advisors follow that policy. Right now it's just too easy to destroy or insert evidence to hide the retaliation. What I'd like to see is Kaiser publicly admit that this is their problem and take steps to protect their most vulnerable employees in the future and make an honest attempt to remedy some of the retaliation that they've allowed managers to conduct in the past. The consequences of Kaiser's past bad acts isn't going to go away: it's just going to lead to more efforts like Grassley's to implement public oversight.

Also, NYCEve - a "citizen journalist" that writes about health care for the Daily Kos - had named Justen Deal a Hero of 2006. Thank you for taking note of what Kaiser does to whistleblowers, NYCEve!

 


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Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions
(Anonymous)
2006-12-29 02:01 pm UTC (link)
EO Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions

Tax-exempt organizations, by definition, are exempt from federal income tax under various provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. However, some are directly involved in Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions (ATATs). In addition, because they are tax-indifferent, tax-exempt organizations are, at times, used by for-profit entities as accommodation parties in these transactions. Identifying and responding to ATATs involving tax-exempt organizations is critical to the IRS objective of discouraging and deterring non-compliance within tax-exempt and government entities. Commissioner Everson emphasized this in a hearing conducted by the Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate on Charitable Giving Problems and Best Practices.

New legislation increases tax shelter penalties that apply to exempt organizations. Guidance has been issued implementing this legislation.

Report an Abusive Transaction Involving an Exempt Organization

IRS
EO Classification
MC 4910DAL
1100 Commerce Street
Dallas, TX 75242
Toll free (866) 775-7474
Fax (202) 283-8406
Email IRS Tax Shelter Hotline irs.tax.shelter.hotline@irs.gov

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions
[info]corphq
2006-12-29 05:23 pm UTC (link)
Interesting - I'm sure this is going to catch up with Kaiser eventually. Thanks for the information on where/how to report it!

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Don't hold your breath....
(Anonymous)
2006-12-29 06:57 pm UTC (link)
If HIPAA is any indication, then this new mandate by the Feds is just a flash in the pan. Workers in the healthcare industry are required to attend HIPAA training, but the government has done little to respond to the HIPAA complaints that have been filed to date.

Too bad no one in House or Senate is dependent on an unscrupulous insurance company for their healthcare. If they were, I doubth they'd pass laws that have no teeth...

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Re: Don't hold your breath....
[info]corphq
2006-12-29 07:03 pm UTC (link)
I agree - the government has done almost nothing about HIPAA complaints: I know of one complaint that's at least two years old, and the designated "contact person" in my own case never bothered to reply to my inquiries.

HIPAA training is laughable at Kaiser, too. The administrative assistant gives each employee a packet of info, tells the employee to read it on their own time, and then asks the employee to sign a piece of paper verifying that the materials have been read. It's institutional enforcement of lying.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Don't hold your breath....
(Anonymous)
2007-01-04 09:52 am UTC (link)
Got to approach feds first, otherwise whistleblower status is meaningless in the hospital setting. Compliance newt B. Naomi Mark made that clear in a session. It was something that should not have been said to the healthcare people streaming in & out of there, probably she realized it later. Prob'ly her sup will see this and get into trouble. There was another lady there, can't recall her name, had a big bushy silver grey hairdo, looked like a bird-faced librarian, nodded all the time with her eyes closed as the first lady talked (if you see something happening that yer not comfortable with, you have to report it to compliance...you have to do your sworn duty as a representative of this organization...you must cooperate fully with an investigation...on and on they rattled). You'll know them when you see them, they travel all over poking around like nobody's nevermind, making gosh-awful nuisances of themselves for honest workers stuck with training sessions.

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Re: Don't hold your breath....
[info]corphq
2007-01-04 10:47 am UTC (link)
Yes, this is a real problem because the feds may not get to it for months. They may never get to it. The evidence will get cold, and then there will be nowhere else to turn. This is one of the most stupid aspects of the whistleblower laws - it creates a big gaping loophole for unethical employers to duck through, and it often leaves the whistleblower to burn.

I'm sure corporate lobbyists made a few payoffs to set this trap for whistleblowers. What a rip off: the public thinks that whistleblower laws are in place because they don't see how they've been subverted.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Kaiser Retaliation
[info]kpsales
2007-04-25 02:26 am UTC (link)
I read a great article today in the Wall Street Journal regarding Justen Deal. Coincidentally I too face my own Kaiser Permanente nightmares regarding retaliation. In October 2006 I too sent a State wide broadcast e-mail outlining the unclarity and discrepancies for the chart audits tied to the incentive payout. My e-mail was not negative and was applauded by other Associate Account Managers for having the courage to speak out. After sending the e-mail I was asked to send a retraction statement and was retaliated against for bringing light to a process that was broken. As more Associate Account Managers responded in positive, the worse it got for me. I feared for my safety and quit my job.

I filed a complaint with the United States Government National Labor Relations Board and State of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

From the postings I'm reading it appears that Kaiser Permanente is consistent with mishandling power of authority, hiring under-qualified staff and retaliation.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Kaiser Retaliation
[info]corphq
2007-04-30 10:18 pm UTC (link)
That Wall Street Journal article has been a long time in the making. Hopefully Justen's ordeal now finally has enough exposure to get the Kaiser change ball rolling.

Please let me know how your NLRB complaint fares - I'd be interested in just hearing about the experience - even if all that's going on is a lot of delay.

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