- “Alternative” practitioner and clinic pay $3.8 million to settle false billing allegations.
- Chiropractor who deceptively marketed stem cell treatments disciplined.
- Crowdfunding of “complementary and alternative” cancer treatment in Tijuana spotlighted.
- Untrustworthy “CAM” journal folds amid myriad retractions.
“Alternative” practitioner and clinic pay $3.8 million to settle false billing allegations. Janette J. Gray, M.D., and her former medical practice, The Center for Health & Wellbeing in San Diego, have agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims to the Medicare and TRICARE programs. Dr. Gray and The Center claimed to operate an “alternative,” “integrative,” and “holistic” clinic staffed by medical doctors, nurse practitioners, naturopaths, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and mental health professionals, along with ancillary medical and administrative staff. Gray and The Center promoted IV infusion therapy, hormone/supplement therapy, and a variety of other “alternative” treatments. The settlement resolves allegations that from 2012 to 2022, Gray and her practice billed Medicare and TRICARE for services that were not covered under either program by disguising the rendering provider, misrepresenting the services provided, “unbundling” services (by billing for a procedure or service in separate parts instead of a single code), or billing for services not medically necessary. In addition to paying $3.8 million, Gray will be excluded from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and all other federal health care programs for five years. [San Diego physician and medical practice pay $3.8 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations. United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California press release, Oct 11, 2024] The Center’s website indicates it closed its doors for good, effective August 31, 2024.
Chiropractor who deceptively marketed stem cell treatments disciplined. The State of Illinois has disciplined Jill Howe, a licensed Chicago-area chiropractor, for engaging in a pattern of administering medically unnecessary trigger-point injections and the deceptive marketing of stem cell therapy. Howe operated several clinics in the north and northwest suburbs under the names Wellness Institute and Superior Health and Wellness. The discipline comes six years after CBS News Chicago investigators went undercover in 2018 to expose how Howe recruited patients by deceptively promoting stem cell therapies for pain. The discipline consists of:
- a 45-day license suspension, followed by placement on indefinite probation for a minimum of four years with multiple conditions including a practice monitor
- completing five Category I continuing medical education hours
- passing all sections of the Ethics and Boundaries Assessment Services Examination
- a $20,000 fine
One of the nine patients who filed complaints about Howe with the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) told CBS News: “So she lost her license for 45 days. That’s nothing. I think that it should be for a couple of years.” The complainants paid as much as $14,000 for the treatments, which did not ease their pain. Howe’s advertising included mailed flyers, full-page newspaper ads, and a YouTube video “Stem Cell Therapy” in which she proclaimed “You can get new knees, you can get new shoulders…”
[Thompson C, Tucker D. Doctor who provided ineffective stem cell therapies disciplined 6 years after investigation began. CBS News Chicago, Oct 13, 2024]
Crowdfunding of “complementary and alternative” cancer treatment in Tijuana spotlighted. In March 2023, researchers from Simon Fraser University, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the University of Alberta searched the crowdfunding platforms GoFundMe and GiveSendGo using known Tijuana clinic names or the locations “Tijuana” or “Baja” paired with “cancer” and “alternative.” They identified 360 crowdfunding campaigns initiated between January 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023 that raised a total of $5,275,268.37 to support patients seeking cancer treatment in Tijuana, Mexico. [Snyder J, and others. Crowdfunding for complementary and alternative cancer treatments in Tijuana, Mexico: Content analysis. JMIR Cancer, 10:e52018, 2024]
Over 75% of campaigns sought funding for treatment at three clinics: Hope4Cancer, Centro Hospitalario Internacional Pacifico, and Oasis of Hope. The intended providers for the rest of the campaigns were Immunity Therapy Center, Sanoviv, Immunotherapy Institute, Gerson Institute, Hoxsey, Advanced Gerson, Health Institute de Tijuana, Integrative Cancer Centers of America, Medgate Baja, Northern Baja Gerson Center, Stella Maris Clinic, and unidentified clinics. A total of 125 campaigners stated the cost of the treatments they sought in Tijuana, which ranged from USD $11,000 to USD $100,000. The median treatment cost was USD $45,000. The most common cancer types or locations disclosed in these campaigns were breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. Of the 205 campaigns that stated the beneficiary’s cancer stage, 79% were at stage 4 and 17% were at stage 3. A total of 19% of beneficiaries were identified as having died after the start of the campaign. The most commonly sought treatments included immunotherapy, dietary supplements, detoxification, Gerson therapy, ozone and oxygenation therapies, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, hyperthermia, vitamin C, dendritic cell therapy, light-based (infrared, laser, photodynamic) treatments, vitamin B17, low-dose chemotherapy, sono-photodynamic therapy, Coley’s therapy, insulin potentiation therapy, cryotherapy, curcumin, and pulsed electromagnetic therapy. The most common rationales for seeking these treatments in Tijuana were that they seemed to offer the greatest effectiveness, care was presented as curative. Unlike what they were offered domestically, treatment of the whole person was in a caring way, and the care would be less toxic/invasive. The researchers concluded:
As has been previously established, crowdfunding is actively used to raise money to access CAM cancer treatments. These campaigns spread problematic misinformation about the likely efficacy of these treatments, funnel money and endorsements to these clinics, and leave many campaigners short of the money needed to pay for them while costing beneficiaries and their loved ones time, privacy, and dignity.
Untrustworthy “CAM” journal folds amid myriad retractions. The webpage for Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a journal that had dubious publication standards, now includes this announcement by its publisher, John Wiley & Sons Ltd: “Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ceased publishing as of September 2024.” A PubMed search reveals 1,497 papers in the journal have been retracted. It previously became front-page news: “John Wiley & Sons, a global publication house with revenues north of $2 billion, announced on May 19, 2024, that it was closing 19 journals it acquired as part of its 2021 purchase of Egypt-based Hindawi publishing company, citing large-scale research fraud.” [Ernst E. The infamous journal ‘Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine’ is no more! EdzardErnst.com, Oct 12, 2024]
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.
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