Take Care

It began with a letter. Several months ago, Spectrum received a letter from a reader regarding alleged discrepancies from a biomedical facility called Care Clinics. The reader detailed charges to her insurance company that were allegedly fraudulent. In her letter she explained that Care had charged her for tests and treatments that had not been done. Care’s explanation to her was that they do that with all of their patients. They charge for testing and treatments they will do in the future as long as a parent becomes part of their program.

The letter, which appeared in the December 2008 edition of Spectrum, was met with anger and defiance from Care Clinics and it’s founder, Kazuko Curtin. We were told that printing the letter was unfair to the company and their patients. We attempted to get a response before the letter appeared in the December issue and after some miscommunication the letter was printed without a response from Curtin. Because the letter was not an article, a response from Care was not a priority for us. It was more of a common courteousy because Care had been an advertiser with Spectrum for over a year.

In fairness we allowed Care to respond in the next issue and a meeting between Curtin and myself was to be scheduled. Months had gone by, and, while we were waiting, Spectrum continued with its investigation into Care. During our investigation we learned that most of the insurance companies Care had charged were conducting investigations of their own. With the help of some sources we also learned that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been alerted.

Throughout our look into Care we found parents of children with autism who had mixed feelings. Some supported the therapy at Care, saying their child had benefited. Others were jaded by their experience. Both sides however were either uncomfortable with the payment process or were not aware until they were informed that their insurance companies had been paying more than they felt they should.

On July 15, Care Clinic’s Austin, Texas, facility was raided by FBI agents (see article on page 26). The raid stemmed from parents who had complained to their insurance carriers and come forward to the FBI. Currently Care has closed its doors while both the IRS and FBI investigate further.

In a recent interview with Spectrum, Curtin believes she has done nothing wrong and feels that once the dust settles, she will be vindicated. Our reader and author of the original letter in December believes otherwise. Only time will tell if either is proven right, but this is a great example about how coming forward with an issue can result in action.

Happy Holidays

I want to take this opportunity on behalf of Evelyn Ain, the staff and myself to wish you a happy holiday season. In this issue Dave Gerardi highlights some great products to consider when you are looking for a specific gift for your child. Feel free to recommend those items to people in your family looking to buy something tailored to them. I know for me I’d rather be told what to get than to try and figure it out myself. That usually ends with mixed results.