The DOJ Just Proved It. Now Make It Law.

THE DOJ JUST PROVED OUR POINT. NOW LET'S MAKE IT LAW.

This week, the Department of Justice charged Texas cardiologist Dr. Jason Finkelstein in an $89 million healthcare fraud scheme. Prosecutors allege he rubber-stamped cardiac tests as "normal" without reviewing them — in one case spending just 11 seconds on scans showing an enlarged heart. That teenager later died on a basketball court.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, called it "a predatory scheme dressed up in medical clothing" and said the doctor "ignored a textbook diagnosis of preventable cardiac death."

We agree, Dr. Oz. So does every one of the over 1,500 people who have signed this petition.

Here's what we need Dr. Oz and the authorities to understand: What happened to that teenager is the visible, dramatic version of what happens to thousands of patients every single day in ways that are harder to see — but just as deadly.

Medical blacklisting kills people. 

When a provider rubber-stamps a fabricated notation in a patient's record — "substance abuser," "drug-seeking," "non-compliant," "mentally unstable," "litigious" — that notation travels. It follows the patient into every waiting room, every specialist's office, every emergency room. Providers who have never met the patient make life-and-death decisions based on a record they never question and a patient they've already decided not to believe.

The teenager who died on the basketball court had his scans reviewed for 11 seconds. Some of us never get reviewed at all.

The DOJ is moving on healthcare fraud. The administration is calling it out. Congress needs to act — and we need to give them something to act on.

The Medical Blacklisting Prevention Act proposes:

• Federal felony classification for intentional denial of care based on non-medical factors, including fabricated or transmitted false records
• Up to 7 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines per violation for individuals; $1,000,000 for entities
• Enhanced penalties up to 15 years if blacklisting results in death
• Mandatory license revocation and permanent exclusion from Medicare/Medicaid
• No statute of limitations until the patient discovers the blacklisting
• A dedicated HHS/DOJ task force with a 60-day investigation mandate
• Whistleblower protections for healthcare workers who report it

The Finkelstein case shows the DOJ will act when healthcare fraud causes patient harm. The Medical Blacklisting Prevention Act gives them the tool to act on the harm they can't yet see — the patients turned away, the records falsified, the care systematically denied.

1,502 signatures right now. We need thousands more.

If you've been turned away. If you've been told your records say something that isn't true. If you've watched someone you love deteriorate because provider after provider had already decided who they were before they walked in the door — this bill is for you.

Let's get more signatures. Share. Make some noise. Now is the time.

The DOJ is listening right now. Let's make sure they hear us.

🔗 https://www.change.org/End_Medical_Blacklisting

Fighting for every patient still waiting to be treated like a worthy human being,

Amy