VA Employees Indicted For Bribery Linked To MiMedx Group, Human Placenta Pharma Co

15 Comments

1. From: “Military Advantage”
   Titled;
   “Ailing ‘Blue Water’ Vets Of Vietnam Near To Gaining VA Benefits”

   Dated; 10 May 2018
   By: “Tom Philpott”

   “After months negotiating with Senate colleagues, the House Veterans Affairs Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to send to the full House a bill likely to become the vehicle to qualify 90,000 ailing sea service veterans for Agent Orange-related disability pay and health care from Department of Veterans Affairs.”

   “These former naval warriors of the Vietnam War, called “Blue Water Navy Veterans,” have been pressuring Congress for decades to have their illnesses recognized as being caused, as likely as not, by exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides sprayed on forests and jungle areas during that long war.”

   “The argument is that surely clouds of the toxin also reached ships patrolling in territorial waters or contaminated water that, once desalinated, was used by Sailors and Marines for showering and other purposes while steaming off the coast.”

   “Veterans who served on the ground in Vietnam or patrolled its inland waters, even for a day, have been eligible for VA compensation and care if diagnosed with one of 14 ailments associated with Agent Orange exposure. But independent U.S. scientists who studied the issue concluded in 2011 that they can’t find enough information to determine if Blue Water Navy veterans were exposed.”

   “As a result, VA refuses to presume their illnesses, though on the Agent Orange presumptive list, were likely caused by service off of Vietnam. A lone exception is allowed for Blue Water veterans with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”

   “Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House committee, predicts the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017 (HR 299)will be signed into law this year. He credited the fact that he and hard-working committee staff, for the first time, found a way to cover the $1 billion cost without violating House budget rules against raising a department’s mandatory, or entitlement, spending.”

   “The “pay for” solution identified, which Senate colleagues have endorsed and major veteran service organizations found acceptable, is to raise modestly the funding fee on initial-use VA-backed home loans. VA estimates that the increase will average $2.94 monthly for homeowners with zero down payment loans, $2.82 monthly for five percent down loans and $2.14 per month for 10 percent.”

   “The fee would not affect loans to any veteran with VA-rated disabilities.”

   “We finally got it,” Roe said in a phone interview the day after his committee forward to the full House the Blue Water Navy bill, 14 smaller bills to help veterans and also a piece of comprehensive legislation whose title Roe shortened to the VA Mission Act (HR 5674). He described HR 5674 as a “monumental” legislative achievement to improve veterans’ access to quality health care. Among its many features is long sought expansion of the comprehensive VA caregiver program to older generations of veterans, although on a phased gradual schedule.”

   “The Mission Act, which has an official title four times as long, was negotiated over months by Roe and Rep. Tim Walz (Minn.), ranking Democrat on the committee, counterparts Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chairman and ranking member on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and with close scrutiny of new VA leaders and the Trump White House.”

   “Roe called it a bicameral, bipartisan package that committee members risked derailing, and “returning to square one,” if they insisted on amending it.”

   “The bill also would consolidate and reform VA’s community care programs and extend funding for the Veterans Choice Program for one year. That’s how long VA estimates it would take to implement community care reforms and streamline seven current programs down to one. Other provisions would strengthen VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality medical personnel and also to realign, streamline and modernize VA medical infrastructure.”

   “Roe explained that the VA would remain primary coordinator of veterans’ care, including for care delivered in the private sector. The Mission Act also would give VA authority to create “a transparent, objective process” to recommend ways to realign and strengthen VA’s “crumbling medical infrastructure.”

   “The current caregiver program, open only to Post-9/11 veterans seriously injured in the line of duty, requires that applicants be unable to perform just one activity of daily living, such as preparing meals or showering unattended. Months ago, Roe proposed that any expansion of caregiver benefits to older generations include a tightening of eligibility criteria for new applicants, specifically that they be unable to perform three or more activities of daily living, making VA eligibility consistent with caregiver benefits under Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance.”

   “I still have that concern, Tom” Roe said. “I haven’t change my mind on that. But there are compromises made to get a bill of this nature done.”

   “The Mission Act needs to be passed and signed into law by Memorial Day, Roe said, to avoid the current Choice program running out of money, which would lead to denial or interruption of community-based care for thousands of veterans.”

   “Roe observed that the Mission Act is complex and some provisions will take more time to implement than the Blue Water Navy bill. A four-year phase-in period for caregiver expansion, for example, wouldn’t start until VA can certify it has upgraded information technology to properly support it. That will give Congress more chances to tighten eligibility if deemed necessary to contain costs, Roe said.”

   “Thirty-eight military associations and veteran service organizations sent a joint letter to committee leaders praising the VA Mission Act, calling it “historic” and a “carefully crafted compromise” that “represents a balanced approach to ensuring timely access to care while continuing to strengthen the VA health care system that millions of veterans choose and rely on.”

   “Rick Weidman, executive director for policy for Vietnam Veterans of America, signed the letter. A day after all these bills cleared committee, Weidman said older veterans got “lots of things we really wanted, first and foremost caregiver benefits for pre-9/11 veterans. Quite bluntly, a lot of our guys are alive because their wife has taken care of them for the last 40 years.”

   “Weidman said he was happy, but not surprised, to see Blue Water Navy legislation advance because “Dr. Roe gave us his word that it would pass this Congress.” He also credited vet groups “beating the drum” for the 90,000 until “everybody got to the point where they said, ‘It’s time to do this.’ That was the thing with Dr. Roe and Senator Isakson. ‘Let’s do this before they’re all dead.’ ”

   “Despite the careful construction and breadth of the VA Mission Act, which Roe said he wants to rename to honor two former prisoners of war in Vietnam — Sen. John McCain and Rep. Sam Johnson serving their final year in the Congress – Roe said he probably is more excited about helping the Blue Water veterans.”

   “I made a commitment when I took over this chairmanship that if I did one thing, I wanted to get this done for these men — their mostly men — who served. And I think we have. I think we found the sweet spot” to win passage.”

   “Roe served two years in the Army Medical Corps in Vietnam War era. His wartime generation is dying off at rate 523 vets a day, he said. “It’s past due to treat them the same as anybody else who suited up and went to Vietnam.”

   “The current Blue Water bill was introduced by Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) in April 2017 and has 329 co-sponsors. An identical bill from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has half of the Senate as co-sponsors. Roe expects swift passage.”

   “We really worked this bill like no other I’ve worked on since I’ve been in Congress,” Roe said, “where we really just pulled the barriers down, went across to the other side, worked with them.”

   “Whether wartime herbicide made these veterans ill can’t be proven, Roe said.”

   “I just want to make the presumption in favor of the veterans, in case it is doing that to them,” he said. “I’m very passionate about that.”
   _________________________________________
   *******************************************
   (I’ve left the comments section on!)

   *******************************************
   3669324227 minutes ago Experiments have shown that the desalinization process aboard US Navy ships actually concentrated the dioxin in Agent Orange by a factor of 10. Agent Orange drained into the offshore waters for years and years from the rivers and streams. Sure, 100 miles out it was probably diluted enough not to be harmful, but just off the coast it was still highly concentrated. No one seems to have a problem with a veteran having spent just one day ashore and getting benefits, but that’s what happens. Agent Orange could have last been sprayed over 3 years ago and a hundred miles away from where a veteran set foot on Vietnamese soil, but that veteran still qualifies. Blue Water Navy veterans drank, showered and cooked with tainted water for weeks or even months at a time. As to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (nHl), apparently even the VA could not ignore the statistically higher incidence among those BWN veterans who served in the offshore waters. They do not need to have put boots on the ground or have served on the inland waterways. On the VA’s website, it states that a veteran who has been exposed to herbicides at any time and any location and has contracted nHl, that veteran is eligible to receive benefits. On the very same page, it states that any veteran who served aboard a ship within the territorial limits of South Vietnam during the period of the Vietnam War and contracts nHl is also eligible. Gee, I wonder what could have caused those BWN veterans to contract nHl in the offshore waters of Vietnam? An nHl bacteria or virus? No, those things don’t exist. I guess we’ll never know, huh?

   Armando Galindo3 hours ago for us who were on the ground in combat, it took years to get the disability from the VA, those who haven’t applied, those who need to apply…………………..you earned it. Geronimo/Semper Fi

   Rick H6 hours ago Just don’t see it. At some point the VA is going to consume an inordinate amount of the budget and will be unsustainable. Hard to see how any clouds of spray could have drifted miles out into the ocean in enough concentration to do harm. From what I’ve read it isn’t like AO was sprayed from 10s of thousands of feet in the air, it had to be dispersed at low levels to maintain enough concentration to be effective. Even if it made it into the ocean water, it seems to me that it would have been diluted to a miniscule concentration during desalinization.

   Let’s face it, we veterans are going to end up being our own worst enemy when it comes to the VA and how we are perceived by the American public. IMO this is just like Me Too!, everyone wants a piece of the action/pot.

   840048619 hours ago Get real Roe, you should know better as a Physician that there is no proof the blue water vets were exposed to AO. The grunts filling their canteens out of stream sure as hell were. The grunts that lost limbs not getting immediate help with caregivers is a travesty old wounds don’t get better with age you idiot. Go away retire now.

   Joseph OBrien22 hours ago It’s bull!

   Lorence Parker22 hours ago These are Vietnam “ERA” Veterans…Not Vietnam Veterans. We went through this in 2002..
   ________________________________________

   “523 Vietnam Veterans dying every day!” is unacceptable in so many ways! I wonder how many the VHA’s ARE directly responsible for?

2. This ‘medical supply’ is harvested from scheduled cesarean sections from donors who undergo screening for viral & infectious diseases. Its being used not only for wound care but back surgery, rotator cuff injury, tennis elbow & other conditions. 9 pg SYMPOSIUM from MiMedx dated November 2017 explains the application uses & how the ‘material’ is processed. “https://www.mimedx.com/sites/default/files/Dehydrated%20Human%20Amnion%3AChorion%20Membrane%20%28dHACM%29%20Allografts%20as%20a%20Therapy%20for%20Orthopedic%20Tissue%20Repair-%20Lei%20-%20Tech%20Orthop%202017.pdf”

3. Off topic, yet necessary information for veterans.
   From: “NEWSMAX”

   Titled:
   “Trump Considering Wounded Army Veteran Brian Mast for VA Secretary”

   Thursday, 10 May 2018 4:20 PM

   “President Donald Trump is considering an Army veteran who is a Republican member of Congress for the position of Veterans Affairs secretary, part of a lengthening search for a nominee following the abrupt firing of David Shulkin in March.”

   “A White House official on Thursday said Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, who was elected to the House in 2016, was among the list of candidates for the job heading an agency of 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans.”

   “The White House official would not say if Mast is the leading candidate for the VA position. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.”

   “Mast is the first member of Congress to open a lawmaker satellite office in a VA facility, setting up shop in the West Palm Beach VA to meet with veterans. He was wounded when serving in Afghanistan in 2010, which resulted in the amputation of both of his legs.”

   “Mast, 37, has often voted along with Trump on key issues in Congress, more recently announcing he supported an assault-weapons ban following the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.”

   “Trump is seeking a nominee to lead the VA after White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson withdrew his nomination for the post last month.”

   “White House officials have met with former Florida Rep. Jeff Miller, a Republican who once led the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Ron Nichol, a senior adviser to The Boston Consulting Group, who helped organize the president’s transition.”

   “Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, a former Pentagon undersecretary for personnel and readiness, and Samuel Spagnolo, the president of the National Association of Veterans Affairs Physicians and Dentists, are also under consideration for the post.”

   “VA officials have told some veterans groups they are preparing for the possibility that the agency won’t have a permanent VA secretary in place for another three months, as Trump mulls over replacement candidates. The VA faces problems demanding immediate attention, including a multi-billion dollar revamp of electronic medical records now in limbo that members of Congress fear will prove too costly and wasteful, and a budget shortfall in the coming weeks in its private-sector Veterans Choice program. The House is slated to vote on a wide-ranging bill next week that would give veterans more freedom to see doctors outside the VA health system and fill the budget shortfall, a major step toward fulfilling Trump’s promise to expand private care for veterans.”

   “Mast, a freshman member of Congress, is expected to have a competitive re-election this year in his South Florida district. With Republicans already facing a struggle to keep House control in November’s elections, any incumbent’s departure would make it harder for the GOP to protect its majority.”

   “Presidential voting in Mast’s district has become increasingly Republican in recent elections, with Trump winning by 9 percentage points in 2016. Barack Obama won the district by 4 percentage points in 2008.”

   Mast has raised nearly $3 million for his campaign so far, nearly triple the amount banked by his leading Democratic rival.

   “Trump originally chose Jackson, a career military doctor who lacked significant management experience, to replace Shulkin, a decision that surprised veterans groups who had not been previously told that his name was under consideration. While Jackson was well-liked in Washington and drew praise from Obama administration officials he’d treated, even many Republicans were skeptical of his ability to lead the VA.”
   _________________________________________

   I believe Mast was the representative who fought the VHA here in Florida for NOT putting the picture of President Trump up!
   IF he’s selected, it will still be one of those “wait and see” deals over IF he can bring VA to heel over ALL the “massive amounts of waste, fraud, abuse and corruption which IS the VA!”
   I don’t know about the rest of y’all, I’m getting pretty fed up with ALL this “WAIT AND SEE CRAP!”

4. What’s interesting is that just the other day I was speaking to another physician about the use of MiMedx’s Amniofix and they have had great results with it compared to the standard steroid and local anesthetic combo for facet and sacroiliac arthropathy (back and hip) pain. The downside is that patients would pay out of pocket for the product.

   I can’t say definitively, but the reports I have come across have mentioned that this product contains no live cells.

   The potential for acute and chronic wound repair with their other products have supposedly been well documented to the point that reps often do not need to sell the products as they sell themselves.

   As a USMC vet and a new resident going into PMR, I am looking to work for the VA to some extent and plan on utilizing regenerative medicine for the recovery of vets. I hope the progress of the vets that were treated with MiMedx’s products is accounted.

   1. Stephen,

      How long have you worked for MiMedx?

      __________________________________

      Oh and also more on MiMedx
      ***************************

      Seems Parker H. “Pete” Petit owner of Mimedx really knows how to throw bribe money around and not just to low level VA employees.

      I am sorry did I say Bribe money?

      I meant to say, he really knows how to throw political Donation money around the swamp.

      Remember the former HHS Sec who was in the process of getting shit-canned for his chartering of private jets on the tax payers dime? His name was Tom Price.

      In an article written while he was going through the conformation process for the position of HHS Sec Titled:

      “Tom Price Sought Perks for Medical Industry Donors: A longtime critic of federal spending, the Georgia Republican has helped keep federal dollars flowing to his generous campaign supporters.”
      Kaiser Health News. The Daily Beast; New York [New York]09 Jan 2017

      “Influence with the FDA

      If confirmed as HHS secretary, Price would oversee many of the rules and regulations and bottlenecks that regularly draw howls from the medical industry. He would also have authority over the FDA, which regulates pharmaceuticals. The agency may soon have purview over a company that Price has personally invested in.

      The Australian firm Innate Immunotherapeutics reported in an annual report that it plans to bring its key Multiple Sclerosis drug to the FDA for approval. Several months ago, Price purchased between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stock in the company, according to a routine financial disclosure required of Congress members.

      The FDA is also currently mulling another regulatory issue that could make or break the company of a top contributor. Parker H. “Pete” Petit, along with his family has contributed $35,900 to Price’s campaign and leadership PAC since 2010. Petit also was finance chair for Trump in Georgia and, with his family, contributed $125,000 to the president-elect’s PAC.

      Petit is the CEO of MiMedx, a Georgia biotech firm in Price’s district, which has contested a decision from the FDA on some products to aid wound healing.

      In August 2013, the FDA concluded in a letter that the products, which consist of discarded placentas and amniotic fluid, should be regulated since their manufacturing constituted manipulating human tissue. The FDA letter sent MiMedx stock tumbling and spurred a securities lawsuit filed in federal court in Georgia. The case accused MiMedx of misleading investors by downplaying the gravity of the FDA’s scrutiny. A nearly $3 million settlement was reached in April.

      Petit has acknowledged seeking congressional help on the issue, without being specific. The FDA said it couldn’t comment on the matter. MiMedx did not return calls.”

   2. Another reason to hate Mimedx. Renting a Disabled Veteran Status to obtain government contracts an x out any legitimate Disabled Veteran Owned company.

      Press Release: MiMedx Agreement With AvKARE Expires As Planned Following Completion Of Contract Wind-Down
      Dow Jones Institutional News; New York [New York]05 July 2017.

      “MiMedx Agreement With AvKARE Expires As Planned Following Completion Of Contract Wind-Down

      PR Newswire

      MARIETTA, Ga., July 5, 2017

      MARIETTA, Ga., July 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — MiMedx Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG), the leading biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing regenerative and therapeutic biologics utilizing human placental tissue allografts and patent-protected processes for multiple sectors of healthcare, announced today that the Company’s contract with AvKARE has expired as planned effective June 30, 2017. MiMedx and AvKARE began planning the wind-down of the contract in 2015, leading up to the final expiration of the contract on June 30, 2017.

      In 2012, MiMedx entered into a partnership with AvKARE in which AvKARE served as a distributor of MiMedx products only to the federal government. AvKARE is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and is certified by the Small Business Association Hub Zone. The largest of AvKARE’s government accounts are the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) and the numerous medical facilities operated by the VA and DOD. AvKARE had built a distribution channel for generic pharmaceuticals and disposable medical supplies. As such, MiMedx entered into its distribution agreement with AvKARE whereby AvKARE would be the exclusive distributor of MiMedx products to federal facilities through the AvKARE Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) number.

      Parker H. “Pete” Petit, CEO, stated, “The demand for MiMedx products grew very quickly with utilization in excess of 130 federal facilities, and within those facilities, our products were used by multiple departments. For strategic and financial reasons, we elected to obtain our own FSS contract in 2014. Beginning in 2015, we began to transition federal facilities from purchasing from the AvKARE FSS contract to the MiMedx FSS contract. Through this process, once a facility was transitioned, the facility began purchasing MiMedx product directly from us, rather than from AvKARE.” “

      1. Oh what a tangled web MiMedx weaves.

         Although MiMedx states in the press release above dated July 5, 2017 that “we elected to obtain our own FSS contract in 2014”.

         In their next published press release dated Aug. 17, 2017 they make a statement to try and hide the fact that they filed bogus paperwork claiming themselves to be a disabled Veteran owned business with the Veterans Administration in 2014 by stating the following. Also violating their contract with AvKARE the bogus Disabled Veteran owned company that was renting them their as a Disabled Veteran owned company to beat out legitimate Veteran owned businesses.

         Hear is how they said it:

         “Additionally, the Company has become aware of a recent “short-sale thesis” suggesting improprieties in certain VA procurement documents. The Company understands that it has been suggested that a MiMedx employee is listed as the “contact person” in a VA procurement document between AvKARE and the VA hospital. Although the Company does not typically comment on these types of theories and rumors, MiMedx believes it is appropriate to note here that the form was intended to be filled out by VA personnel and MiMedx was not a party to such a document and did not review it. This type of document would be forwarded to AvKARE for product fulfillment as AvKARE was solely responsible for distribution activities in the VA hospitals per its contract with MiMedx until MiMedx obtained its own FSS contract in 2015, which allowed it to do business directly as well. It should be noted that MiMedx was the manufacturer of the products, and as such, did manage product support inquiries, so MiMedx personnel were known to the procurement agents in the VA hospitals.”

         More from the Aug. 17, 2017 Press release

         “Further, one terminated employee admitted that his “channel stuffing” allegation is based on the fact that he heard from other people that the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) hospitals allegedly returned “massive” amounts of products even though he admits he did not know how much product was actually returned. This employee had no knowledge of the actual ordering process and procedures utilized for orders or returns from VA hospitals to MiMedx’s government distributor, AvKARE, Inc.

         Finally, one terminated employee admitted he has been dishonest. He admitted that he was actually lying in various emails regarding his sales activities. Additionally, he testified that he told one other terminated employee to lie to VA doctors about whether or not he would get commissions for selling to them a competing product. Moreover, that terminated employee admitted that he kept his limited liability company a secret from MiMedx.”

         Truly a tangled web indeed!

5. More on Mimedx “channel stuffing” using the VA to flees investors.

   From an Article
   “Whistleblowers Claim MiMedx Group, Inc. Defrauded Investors in Lawsuit Filed by Halunen Law”
   Business Wire; New York [New York]15 Dec 2016.

   “According to the lawsuit, the scheme implicates AvKARE, Inc., a Tennessee company that entered into a distribution agreement with MiMedx, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, an end customer of MiMedx products. Kruchoski and Tornquist allege that MiMedx directed sales managers and representatives to book large orders for products never requested by their customers, VA hospitals in the Upper Midwest. Typically, the “requests” to write these orders were issued in the waning days of a quarterly reporting period, with the goal of inflating the company’s quarterly revenue reports to shareholders, the lawsuit claims. The complaint further alleges that this scheme did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles for revenue recognition.

   According to the complaint, when a company directive ordering sales personnel to “stuff the shelves” of VA hospitals with EpiFix packages came down in late December 2015, Kruchoski expressed his opinion about the illegality of such action. However, as alleged in the Complaint, on December 30, MiMedx CEO Parker Petit ordered the sales force to add inventory to government shelves.

   According to the complaint, the company unveiled a new tactic to use in supplying VA hospitals with an abundance of EpiFix products in March 2016. The idea allegedly called for using FedEx to ship shoebox-sized packages filled with 15 of the most expensive EpiFix grafts to VA hospital shipping departments. The Complaint alleges that in late March, MiMedx shipped what was estimated to be about $2.4 million worth of product to VA hospitals nationwide. As of November 2016, much of this product was returned or remained on the VA shelves, unpurchased. The complaint describes at least one instance of the EpiFix grafts being stored at a sales representative’s home.”

6. Teacher says “Whenever a Veteran dies, a VA employee gets their wings.”

   1. Wings??? I thought it was Horns.

   2. I thought it was a bonus.

   3. LOL, you guys are on a roll this morninng.

7. Seems like someone put something on here last year about “MiMedx” which wasn’t too favorable!

   Gotta feeling those VA employees, who accepted “gifts”, will, “in the end”, only be charged with that. Remember that director out in Phoenix Arizona! She was only charged with “gift taking” instead of letting veterans DIE!

8. Meanwhile back at the VA Canteen Cafeteria:

   Veteran Stakeholder:”Why are there flies in my placenta platter meatloaf?”

   Cafeteria Employee: “Spared absolutely no expense. That’s Spanish Fly Placenta Platter Meatloaf, and both the flies and placentas are organically sourced in all VA Operating Rooms”

   Veteran Stakeholder: “My Spanish Fly Placenta Meatloaf just winked at me then crawled away!!!!!!!!!!”

   Cafeteria Employee: “Can we get a medical orderly down here again, we have another live one?!”

   1. Now THAT was disgustingly, hilarious. All my beautiful thoughts for the day, just slipped away…….

Comments are closed.