CORRUPTION WITHOUT BORDERS Sexual planning services for a 96 year old man

The prosecutors of the General Prosecutors' Office have conducted six searches on Thursday, in the counties of Timiş and Mehedinţi, as part of an investigation concerning the fictitious reimbursement of medical services, which also involves employees of the Timiş County Health Insurance Department.

According to some judicial sources, the law enforcement bodies have searched the headquarters of the Selfemed clinic, as well as the homes of Diana Nicoară, the wife of the head of the Consumer Protection Regional Commissariat of Timişoara, and of Cristian Careba, the former head of the Timiş County Health Insurance Department.

According to the quoted sources, the prosecutors have investigated the reimbursement of various medical services provided, which were suspected to have been fictitious, at the County Health Insurance House of Timiş by the Selfmed clinic, during the term of Careba.

A report by the Court of Accounts shows that the doctors reported having seen several patients suffering from chronic diseases several times in the same month: "As an example, we have the case of a medic who saw the same patient suffering from a chronic disease 18 times in a month. (...)". According to the Report, on the list of outpatients of the county of Timiş, the external public auditors checked the number of patients seen by the same doctor in one month. Thus, it was found that there some doctors reported 826 patients seen in one month, which raised a red flag with the auditors when it came to the veracity of those medical services provided and the large number of patients seen.

Following the checks of the database, it was found that the clinic reimbursed pregnancy planning services provided to a 96 year old man, who received "couples' counseling and the use of contraceptives", the report of the Court of Accounts says.

The General Prosecutors' Office has announced, through a press release, that intends to investigate the legal representatives of some medical services providers in the counties of Timiş and Mehedinţi, "for having committed fraud and forgery in private deeds as there are suspicions that between 2012 and 2013, they have misled the representatives of the Timiş County Health Insurance Department, with the complicity of some of its employees, by presenting for settlement fictitious medical services". The losses caused through this fraud exceed 100.000 lei.