Author Topic: Wealthy Fla. doctor linked to senator back in news  (Read 454 times)

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Offline flowers

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Wealthy Fla. doctor linked to senator back in news
« on: April 12, 2014, 06:23:03 pm »
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/12/wealthy-fla-doctor-linked-to-senator-back-in-news/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

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   WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A wealthy Florida doctor whose offices were raided by the FBI and who allowed a U.S. senator to use his private jet is again under scrutiny for receiving more money from the taxpayer-funded Medicare program than any other doctor.

A massive data dump from federal health officials this week showed South Florida ophthalmologist Dr. Salomon Melgen received nearly $21 million in 2012 from the tax-payer funded Medicare program - more than any other doctor in the country. Melgen has not been criminally charged or accused of wrongdoing.

Melgen’s attorney, Kirk Ogrosky, said the doctor’s billing conformed with Medicare rules and is a reflection of high drug costs, noting he has four offices and treats hundreds of patients every week.

“Dr. Melgen stands by his record of improving the vision and quality of life of patients from around the world,” Ogrosky said in a statement.

In photos with political luminaries, Melgen seemed to relish the attention cast on him as a revered and reliable donor. But he appears to be shying away from the spotlight since the scandal broke with Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who repaid the doctor more than $70,000 for the flights to the Dominican Republic.

Below is a look at Melgen’s public life in recent years:

LOVING THE LIMELIGHT

Melgen is a Dominican Republic native who came to the U.S. and built a reputation as a top ophthalmologist. After operating on former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles, a Democrat, in 1997, he became a reliable donor to Democratic power brokers and a frequent host of fundraisers, both at his massive North Palm Beach home and his house in an exclusive resort community in the Dominican Republic.