9
SPINE
SURGEONS
Dr. Tom Price is Your New HHS Secretary:
8 Things to Know
By Megan Wood
T
om Price, MD, R-Ga., is the nation's
new HHS secretary, e New York
Times reports.
Here are eight things to know:
1. In the early hours of Feb. 10, 2017, the Senate
confirmed Dr. Price by a vote of 52 to 47.
2. Democrats did not support the nomination
of Dr. Price for his views on ACA repeal and
Medicare changes, CNN reports.
3. is confirmation concludes Dr. Price's rocky
path to the Senate floor. On Jan. 31, 2017, Sen-
ate Finance Committee Democrats opted out
of a committee vote on Dr. Price for HHS sec-
retary, alleging he "misled" Congress during
panel testimonies, with statements that strayed
from facts, as reported by e Hill.
4. Specifically, Democrats wanted more
information on Dr. Price's stock trades in
Australia-based medical biotechnology
company Innate Immunotherapeutics, Reu-
ters reported. A Wall Street Journal article
published in December 2016, revealed Dr.
Price was among fewer than 20 U.S. inves-
tors who were able to buy discounted com-
pany shares. This conflicted with Dr. Price's
testimony that all investors received access
to these discounted shares.
5. When the committee reconvened on Feb.
1, 2017, the GOP members found them-
selves without their Democrat peers, again.
The committee's rules require at least one
Democrat be present during voting. To
avoid a consecutive day of no voting, Com-
mittee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, de-
cided to proceed with the vote sans Dem-
ocrats, noting the Senate Parliamentarian
approved the rule change.
6. As head of the HHS, Dr. Price will oversee a
$1 trillion annual budget.
7. A physician hasn't served as the HHS sec-
retary since Louis W. Sullivan, MD, during
former President George H. W. Bush's admin-
istration.
8. Dr. Price, managing partner at Atlanta-ar-
ea Chattahoochee Associates, has trans-
ferred ownership to his wife, Betty Price,
MD, R-Roswell, who is a representative to the
Georgia House of Representatives, according
to e Atlanta Journal-Constitution. n
Behind Bars for Fraud: Neurosurgeon Dr. Aria Sabit Receives
Nearly 20-Year Prison Sentence — 8 Key Insights
By Megan Wood
N
eurosurgeon Aria Sabit, MD, received a 235-month
prison sentence on Jan. 10, 2017, for fraud, as re-
ported by Medscape.
Here are eight things you need to know:
Criminal history
1. Dr. Sabit possesses a significant criminal history, dating back
to 2010. While practicing at Ventura, Calif.-based Communi-
ty Memorial Hospital, Dr. Sabit "invested $5,000 in a physi-
cian-owned distributorship of screws, plates, rods and other
pieces of spinal instrumentation," according to Medscape. He
earned profits from the POD, called Apex Medical Technolo-
gies, and urged his hospital to use the equipment. Dr. Sabit
performed numerous "unnecessary surgeries," receiving ille-
gal kickbacks. Court documents revealed the Apex Medical
Technologies illegal kickbacks totaled $440,000.
2. As a result of these unnecessary surgeries, about 30 of
Dr. Sabit's patients sued him for malpractice. Community
Memorial Hospital cut ties with Dr. Sabit in December 2010
to protect patients.
3. With a California career in the rearview, Dr. Sabit took his
practice to Detroit. His fraudulent ways were far from over,
however. He convinced patients to undergo spinal fusions
with metal instrumentation, but "subsequent diagnostic imag-
ing revealed that he never installed the hardware, just bone
dowels, and never achieved fusion," according to Medscape.
Arrest
4. On Nov. 24, 2014, authorities arrested Dr. Sabit. By May
2015, he pleaded guilty to "various counts of fraud, one
count of conspiracy to commit fraud leading to serious
bodily injury and one count of illegally distributing a con-
trolled substance," as reported by Medscape.
5. The Department of Justice reported Dr. Sabit has stolen a to-
tal of $11 million from Medicare, Medicaid and private payers.
6. Although initially set to take place on Oct. 2, 2015, the
judge postponed the sentencing after hearing of the plea
agreement between Dr. Sabit's attorneys and prosecutors.
His attorneys pushed for a sentence between nine years
and 11 years.
7. Detroit's federal district court determined Dr. Sabit was a
flight risk, so he has been imprisoned since his initial arrest.
8. Prosecutors fought for a sentence that "would make oth-
er physicians think twice about following in his footsteps,"
as reported by Medscape. n
