Jun 25, 2004 -- Surgical centers renting patients for insurance benefits
There are health care centers and surgical centers in existence that are performing procedures on people who are perfectly healthy. These centers are so desperate for money that they rent patients to have surgeries they dont need so that the surgery centers can bill insurance companies for the money. In return, these patients are receiving money usually a couple thousand dollars or trips to vacation destinations. Insurance companies have paid out half a billion to these centers, which are practicing whats being called rent-a-patient programs. On the other end of the spectrum, non-profit centers are treating patients like dirt because they dont have insurance. We are in the early innings of figuring out how to fix out broken health care system, but this development is a clear sign that our system needs immediate help.