By Hedelberto López Blanch
Not a single day goes by without the U.S. regime, along with far-right Cuban-American members of Congress or the Senate, issuing fake news and threats against the island in their quest to destroy the Cuban Revolution.
The latest fake news story was a statement by the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, who told Fox News that criminal networks are billing millions of dollars for medical equipment in Florida and then fleeing with that money to the island.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry immediately refuted these allegations in a statement, asserting that U.S. government officials are speculating, without any evidence, that the Cuban government might be involved in fraud against the U.S. healthcare program in South Florida, which is yet another slander promoted by anti-Cuban sectors in that country.
The document adds:
“Cuba maintains a firm position of rejecting this and other transnational crimes. The U.S. government is well aware of this, and has exchanged information and coordinated joint actions with the Cuban government on terrorism, judicial assistance, trade security, illicit drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and immigration fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, and financial crimes; However, as a rule, there has not been reciprocal conduct on the part of the U.S. authorities.”
In the text, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out that Cuba has prosecuted individuals residing in the country who have been linked to Medicare fraud in the United States.
Through bilateral mechanisms, Cuban authorities have shared and requested information from the United States regarding individuals associated with financial crimes and have requested assistance in the repatriation of Cuban citizens residing in that country who evaded Cuban laws and are accused of such offenses.
But let’s look at the reality in context.
The fortunes of many Cuban-Americans in Miami have been amassed through various means, including: the substantial capital provided by U.S. administrations to groups acting against the Cuban Revolution, the drug trade, money laundering, Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and contracts obtained by construction or service companies from the Cuban government.
What are Medicare and Medicaid?
Medicare is a federal program for people with disabilities or those over 65, which covers consultations and hospital services, but not medications, while Medicaid is a state program for low-income individuals that covers all medical services and medications. Fraud occurs in hospitals, consultations, and with medications.
For example, the federal government gives private clinics known as Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) $800 per month for each patient they treat. If an HMO has 1,000 patients, it receives $800,000 monthly. These people should receive medical care if they need it. According to medical estimates, 5 to 10 percent will become ill.
In consultations, clinics and hospitals charge patients extra for special tests because the money is in the diagnostic procedure, not in the consultation, which costs $100, while tests cost between $500 and $1,800.
It’s a huge business. There’s no need to justify it. All Medicare services are subject to fraud, especially in South Florida. Clinics bill Medicare directly through an account and calculate that each patient on the plan should pay between $1,500 and $2,500, which is why the fraud amounts to millions.
Much of this information comes to light in Miami, but then, due to pressure and vested interests, it disappears without explanation or is met only with banal comments, which are the norm in the controlled press.
Let’s look at just this one fact. The Miami Herald, on April 21, 1995, published an article stating: “Cuban-American Miguel Recarey, the first to invent HMOs and who fled the United States after defrauding Medicare of hundreds of millions of dollars, said in a television interview that he had been buying influence from Jeb Bush and other powerful political figures during the 1980s.”
While this happens daily in Miami, Cuba, as stated in the MINREX document, has condemned individuals who have entered the country after committing such crimes, provided they have received reliable information.
However, successive US administrations have consistently denied Cuban authorities this type of information, complicating investigations.
The Cuban government, the statement affirms, reiterates its commitment to jointly combating transnational crimes originating in the United States through the timely exchange of information.
Once again, Cuba exposes the fake news fabricated by the U.S. regime and its Cuban-American mafia allies.
IMAGE CREDIT: Cover image: Adán Iglesias Toledo / ADAN-MADICARE-800×445
(*) Hedelberto López Blanch is a renowned Cuban journalist. He writes for the newspaper Juventud Rebelde and the weekly Opciones. He is the author of “Cuban Emigration to the United States,” “Secret Stories of Cuban Doctors in Africa,” and “Miami, Dirty Money,” among others.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE AUTHOR: Hedelberto López Blanch
[ SOURCE: RESUMEN LATINOAMERICANO Y DEL TERCER MUNDO CUBA / EN RESUMEN ]
