An American man wanted in the US on Medicare fraud charges has had his assets frozen by the BC Supreme Court.

The former owner and Chief Executive of a Chicago hospital is facing federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges in relation to a 64.2 million dollar US civil judgement against him in 2006. The original civil judgement relates to his involvement in a patient referral kickback scheme at the hospital he ran. The current charges stem from his alleged attempts to cover up his finances and avoid paying the 2006 judgement amount.

According to a Vancouver Sun article, this individual has been living in Vancouver for the past two years until he was recently detained by Canadian Border Services after returning from a trip to China.

The world-wide injunction filed by the BC judge effectively freezes all of the individual’s assets, thereby preventing disposal before the US government can collect on the amount owing.

A recent CBC News investigation has uncovered an alleged drug kickback scheme involving an East Vancouver pharmacy and local drug addicts. According to the report, drug addicts are being paid off to fill their provincially-funded methadone prescriptions in exchange for cash. The bribe generally amounts to ten dollars, the same price as a rock of crack cocaine.

In British Columbia, methadone prescriptions for drug addicts are covered by the provincial drug plan and pay pharmacists a dispensing fee of $16.30 per prescription. This can translate into a lucrative enterprise for pharmacies that service a high volume of customers.

The CBC report also indicated that the owner of the pharmacy operates a nearby hotel, and, as a condition of tenancy, residents must be members of the provincial methadone program and are required to fill all their prescriptions at this particular pharmacy.

The BC Ministry of Health has stated that this type of alleged incentive scheme is prohibited under the provincial legislation governing the methadone program and that they will be looking into the matter.

Recently, the CHCAA has been working cooperatively with the Canadian Expatriate Association to advise Canadians living abroad about the importance of making sure they are receiving health care lawfully when they return to Canada. Since this criteria is set out by the provincial Ministries of Health, the CHCAA is pleased to provide a list of links (below) that will provide you with the eligibility requirements for each province. If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact the appropriate Ministry of Health and they will be able to assist you.

By Province

1. Alberta

2. British Columbia

3. Manitoba

4. Newfoundland

5. New Brunswick

6. Nova Scotia

7. Prince Edward Island

8. Quebec

9. Saskatchewan