BOLEN REPORT: "Aetna Goes Down The Drain" by: Tim = Bolen

Who = Are=20 These
Quackbu= sters?

FEATURE=20 ARTICLE

SUBSCRIBE=20 to this newsletter

Bolen=20 Report ARCHIVES=

AETNA Loses Major = Dental=20 Case
in Fed Court - Is This Their Demise?...

Opinion by Consumer = Advocate=20 Tim Bolen

Sunday, January = 29th,=20 2006

Late Friday, January 27th, 2006, 10th District Federal = Court=20 Judge Marcia Krieger handed struggling Aetna Insurance, perhaps = the=20 biggest legal loss in Aetna's history. And, it was over a = dental=20 issue. The reverberations will be felt worldwide. This = case=20 may be one of the two straws to break this company's back. = I'll tell=20 you about the second straw further into this article.

About 3:00PM,=20 Central Standard time, in Denver, Colorado, Aetna attorneys and = top=20 management no doubt went into cardiac arrest when a decision in = the=20 "Cavitat v.=20 Aetna" = Federal case=20 was announced by the Judge, especially since the decision came = only one=20 week after Aetna had arrogantly crowed its legal position to its = customer=20 base in Business Week Magazine. It is not known whether = Business=20 Week plans to retract its story and apologize to those it=20 named.

In August of=20 2004, a small manufacturer of medical devices, Cavitat Medical=20 Technologies of Denver, Colorado filed suit against Aetna, and = named as=20 co-conspirators:

Delicensed MD Ste= phen=20 Barrett, his dubious website "quackwatch.com," = Robert S.=20 Baratz MD, DDS, PhD, the N= ational=20 Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), and a big chunk of the = organized=20 "= quackbuster"=20 conspiracy, in Colorado, for "were and are each = employed or=20 associated with an enterprise, and participated and participates = in the=20 conduct of the enterprise affairs through a pattern of = racketeering=20 activity in violation of 18 USAC1962(c) and C.R.S. = 18-17-104(3). =20 Said pattern of activity included and includes, but was and is not = limited=20 to, the preparation, publication, dissemination and transmittal of = information by US Mail and by wire through internet websites by = wire and=20 other media which falsely represented the Plaintiff's product and=20 technology, constituting a violation of 18 USC 1341, 1343, 1347 = and 1349,=20 and CRS 18-17-103(5)(a)..."

"(1) Publication of = an=20 Injurious Falsehood, (2) Tortious interference with a = Prospective=20 Business Advantage, (3) Negligent interference with a Prospective = Business=20 Advantage, (4) Interference with contract or prospective = Contractual=20 Relation, (5) Federal and State RICO (18USCA 1961 et seq. = and C.R.S.=20 18-17-104).

I have a copy of = the=20 lawsuit on my desk (12 pages), and I LOVE the way it = reads. I've=20 put a copy=20 on one of my websites. It's a model, as far as I'm = concerned, of the=20 way a hundred other lawsuits should be filed against the "= quackbuster"=20 conspiracy, all over North America.

Basically, the=20 lawsuit complains that Bob Jones invented a device called = CAVITAT=20 which easily finds cavitations in the jawbone long before an x-ray = can, got that device properly approved by the FDA, started = selling it=20 all over North America, only to have the q= uackbuster=20 operation bad-mouth it. Aetna Insurance picked up the q= uackbuster's=20 commentaries and used them to deny claims for its use, and for = treatment=20 based upon results of its findings. The q= uackbusters=20 that wrote the report (Dodes and Schissell) claim to have a dental = clinic=20 in Forest Hills, New York. They are the mainstay writers for = Barrett's dubious "dentalwatch.com" website. Dodes = and=20 Schissell have very questionable credentials.

Scientist Bernard=20 Windham probably explains best why the q= uackbusters=20 are so eager to kill CAVITAT for their paymasters. Windham = says=20 "Cavitations are diseased areas in bone under teeth or = extracted teeth=20 usually caused by lack of adequate blood supply to the area. Tests = by=20 special equipment (Cavitat) found cavitations in over 90% of = areas=20 under root canals or extracted wisdom teeth that have been = tested, and=20 toxins such as anerobic bacteria and other toxics which = significantly=20 inhibit body enzymatic processes in virtually all cavitations. = These=20 toxins have been found to have serious systemic health effects in = many=20 cases, and significant health problems to be related such as = arthritis,=20 MCS, and CFS. These have been found to be factors along with = amalgam in=20 serious chronic conditions such as MS, ALS, Alzheimer's, MCS, CFS, = etc..=20 The problem occurs in extractions that are not cleaned out = properly after=20 extraction.

Frankly, the American = Dental System, with the American Dental Association (ADA) at = the helm,=20 is buried in 100 year old technologies, won't accept anything new, = and is=20 fighting a losing battle over their promotion of deadly poisonous = mercury=20 amalgam (they call them "silver") fillings, and = ultra-dangerous,=20 but highly profitable "Root Canals." The ADA, I hear, = has=20 lost a second insurance carrier, because of its endorsement of = certain=20 dental products. And, it is being sued by its former = insurance=20 carrier for lying to that carrier about the safety of mercury=20 amalgams.

Worse, the ADA, = isn't telling=20 its membership about its legal problems. A California = dentist found=20 out the hard way that the ADA won't back those dentists that still = install=20 mercury amalgams, stating "he should have known how dangerous = they=20 were..."

The ADA, isn't = telling its=20 membership about its Public Relations problems, either. = Mainstream=20 media has picked up on the ADA's plight. The Chicago = Tribune, a few=20 weeks ago, ran an article titled "Are your teeth = toxic? =20 The mercury in 'silver' fillings = would be=20 hazardous waste in a river----yet it's sitting in your=20 mouth..."

Aetna=20 has been in BIG trouble for a while...

Aetna, just a=20 few years ago, according to Baseline magazine, "was losing = about =20 $1 million dollars a day..." Then John W. Rowe was brought aboard as = CEO. Rowe=20 made big changes to stop the hemorrhaging. The biggest thing = was=20 implementation of a new system labeled Executive Management = Information=20 System (EMIS) designed to replace an old system that Rowe said = was=20 "using=20 stale information to make actuarial assumptions about what was = happening=20 in health care."

Again,=20 Baseline says "This=20 performance management system helped Aetna understand where it was = losing=20 money and what it would have to change to reverse that trend. = Initially,=20 Aetna returned to profitability by raising its rates and = deliberately=20 driving away unprofitable customers. But over the past couple of = years, it=20 has continued to increase profits by whittling away at overhead = expenses=20 and medical costs."

The=20 "Cavitat v. Aetna" case, though, points out Aetna's reality = - and=20 the emptiness of their so-called "recovery." The key = words to=20 the problems brought up in the Cavitat case were in the statement = above=20 "it has continued to = increase=20 profits by whittling away at overhead expenses and medical = costs." =20

It's how=20 they accomplished that increase in profits, that becomes the rub - = and is=20 the situation that will anger the health industry towards Aetna = far more=20 than anything else.

So, how=20 DID Aetna do the "whittling?"

The "Cavitat"=20 case uncovered four Aetna secrets, a good many of which are = revealed in a=20 transcript of a hearing where Aetna tried, unsuccessfully, to = change the=20 trial to as different Court. They were:

(1) =20 Aetna makes a policy of using known medical/dental = "quackpots," and=20 "liars for hire" as "medical dental experts" = evaluating the=20 unsuspecting health professional's choice of testing, diagnosis, = and=20 treatment of patients for the purpose of denying claims. =

(2) =20 Aetna has a list of legitimate CPT codes that they will NOT pay = for under=20 ANY circumstances. They do not reveal this to health=20 professionals.

(3) If=20 ANY health professional uses the legitimate CPT codes mentioned = above in a=20 billing, Aetna puts that health professional on a supposedly=20 "independent" computer "health fraud" list it shares = with=20 other insurance companies, State licensing agencies, and law = enforcement -=20 permanently "marking" that unsuspecting health professional = as a=20 "suspected criminal," nationwide. From that point on = there is=20 a target on that health professional's heart. The victims = have no=20 way of knowing, or finding out, that they are listed as a = "suspected=20 criminal." We suspect that there are over 70,000 health=20 professionals on that list right now.

(4) =20 Worst, is that Aetna uses the State health professional licensing = boards,=20 and their disciplinary process, to punish health professionals who = dare to=20 challenge Aetna's payment denial - filing a formal complaint = against that=20 doctor/dentist forcing them to go through an expensive = "investigation,"=20 and a State hearing process. Aetna can refer the = State=20 agency to the supposed independent computer "health fraud" = list,=20 saying "see, they're already a suspected criminal..." = The New=20 York State Medical Society ran an article last year claiming that = not only=20 are insurance companies using, and abusing, the State licensing = boards=20 over claims, but they are "funding" those investigations = and=20 prosecutions.

Keep in mind=20 that these policies are not just restricted to those patients = covered by=20 Aetna. Aetna is the so-called "plan = administrator" for=20 hundreds of other insurance plans, including some segments of=20 Medicare....

The "Cavitat v. Aetna" case was the beginning of a = war...

War is not for=20 the timid.

Bob Jones the=20 inventor of "Cavitat"=20 is certainly not timid. He spent years proving his Cavitat = device=20 had merit - so much merit, he scares the crap out of = "big = dentistry." His device, literally, = tears apart=20 long, and strongly held, beliefs in dentistry. His = "Cavitat" device shows that = dentistry's highly=20 profitable "root=20 canal" = method is, and=20 always has been, an oral cess-pool of bacteria of the worst kind - = the=20 kind that can, will, and does, literally, stop the human heart = from=20 beating. His device changes dentistry forever.

The=20 "= quackusters" are an industry unto = themselves. =20 It is their job to stop new things in health care. = Originally=20 started, and funded, by 26 drug companies, they've expanded to = become the=20 misdirection agency for everything new in health care. They = get paid=20 to stop, or damage, anything, and everything, that competes with = the=20 status quo. When something new arrives on the health scene, = soon=20 you'll see an article about it on delicensed MD Ste= phen=20 Barrett's dubious website "quackwatch.com." And Barrett, and his sleazy quackpot friends, are = more than=20 willing to testify against that new thing, claiming to be experts = at=20 something that, a few days before, they'd never even heard = of. For a=20 price.

They made the=20 mistake of trying that crap on Bob Jones. They used their = usual=20 sleazy "bad-mouthing," bringing in two of their lower-level "testifying=20 whores," Dodes=20 and Schissell, from the ludicrous "dentalwatch.com" infamy. Dodes and Schissell wrote a so-called=20 "scientific = paper," = which NO peer=20 reviewed JOURNAL would publish, but Barrett put on his website, = parading=20 it as though it had merit.

Everything=20 would have been fine, because, in the industry, for the most part, = Barrett, and his cronies have the acceptance of dog doo-doo on = your=20 shoe. Aetna Insurance, for reasons not yet revealed, = however, chose=20 to accept q= uackbuster=20 crap as credible - and chose to republish their statements, with=20 statements of their own, added.

So Bob Jones=20 said "Oh=20 yeah?" And down=20 he went, into central Denver, and plopped himself down in front of = nationally = famous civil=20 rights attorney Walter Gerash, and said "Walter, I need your help on = something..."

And the war=20 began...

Aetna's counter-attack...

Aetna=20 had to have been literally stunned at Cavitat's legal = assault. For,=20 Cavitat had laid out the situation, in legal, documents, = flawlessly. =20 To me, there was no "out" for Aetna, They'd done exactly = what=20 Cavitat said. So, what would their response be?

Well, they did=20 what every multi-billion dollar corporation does when sued by a = "little=20 guy." They went out of their way to make the case too = expensive=20 for Cavitat to litigate. Here's what they did:

(1) =20 First, they assigned the case to five separate BIG law firms, all = of which=20 began to file massive amounts of legal paperwork designed to = deluge=20 Cavitat's attorneys with work, distracting them from pursuing = their own=20 case against Aetna.

(2) They=20 subpoenaed every item they could think of, including Cavitat's = trade=20 secrets, their bank accounts, personal and corporate - and even = though the=20 court ordered those documents to be "confidential," they = turned all=20 of that information over to sleazy Ste= phen=20 Barrett, who put all of it on his dubious website=20 "quackwatch.com."

(3) Then they = went to=20 every State licensing board and filed formal charges against ALL = of=20 Cavitat's backers, and expert witnesses, pressuring those = witnesses to=20 "not testify." This action, of course, was designed = to cost=20 those Cavitat "expert witnesses" a fortune in personal = legal fees,=20 and exert stress in their lives. The so-called "expert=20 witness" Aetna used against all of these people was Robert S. = Baratz=20 MD, DDS, PhD - the current president of the legally defunct = N= ational=20 Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF). Baratz was named = as a=20 co-conspirator in Cavitat's original lawsuit.

(4) Then Aetna = filed=20 their counter-claim (a counter-lawsuit) stating that Cavitat, all = of its=20 users, all of its expert witnesses, etc, in essence, were engaged = in a=20 conspiracy to defraud Aetna insurance, blah, blah, blah... Their = claim,=20 although poorly written and hard to understand because of its = almost=20 "ranting" quality, seems to be saying that NICO (Neuralgia = Induced=20 Cavitational Osteonecrosis) doesn't actually exist - and (insert = laughter=20 here) is a "fake diagnosis designed to defraud Aetna insurance, = blah,=20 blah, blah.."

In=20 that complaint they listed some of the who's who of American = Dentistry,=20 and science, as "conspirators" against them - top people = from the=20 University system, including the Universities of Texas, Kentucky, = Ohio,=20 Arizona, etc. The complaint went on and on - even naming one = of the=20 top authors of Dental textbooks in the US as a = "conspirator.." =20

(5) =20 Using the "fake" counter-suit described above, Aetna used = its=20 billions of dollars, its hundreds of attorneys, and its = connections with=20 State and Federal authorities to begin to harass, en-masse, with=20 subpoenas, demands for depositions and personal information, = anyone, and=20 everyone connected to Cavitat. Of course, Aetna bragged in court = that it=20 had listed all of these victims on the so-called "independent = computer=20 'health fraud' list."

(a) They even began = to harass me,=20 Tim Bolen, claiming that I was somehow a "conspirator" = against=20 them. They gave me fifteen (15) paragraphs (insert = belly-laugh here)=20 in the writing of their cross-complaint. Using that, they = sent thugs=20 to my daughter's apartment building, physically threatened my = neighbors,=20 and I've just found out - "subpoenaed my telephone bills" = without=20 me knowing it. So, if I've called you on the phone within = the last=20 seven years, and your cat has disappeared recently, your dog has = been=20 poisoned, there is a bad smell in your yard, or there is someone = who looks=20 suspiciously like a vampire peering in your windows - call Aetna's = Customer Service line, and complain.

(6) Bob Jones, = Cavitat's=20 founder and CEO, believes that Aetna has been illegally = wiretapping his=20 telephone. I tend to agree with him - they are, and here's = why I=20 think so. Bob and I, in a telephone conversation we knew, = for=20 certain, couldn't be wiretapped by Aetna, set a trap for Aetna - = and they=20 walked right into it. We "invented" = information, a=20 non-existent bank account, supposedly in the "Bank of = Laredo." Bob=20 Jones then briefly discussed, with his own attorney, that account = in the=20 "Bank of Laredo" as though it actually existed. Only = a few=20 weeks later, Aetna sent a new set of "interrogatories" in = which was=20 a demand for "all information about the accounts in the Bank of = Laredo..."

(6) Aetna then = took=20 their "fake" cross-complaint story to the media. = First they=20 put the whole thing on Ste= phen=20 Barrett's goofy "quackwatch.com" website. It's still = there today=20 - with Barrett's arrogant commentary. Then they went to = Business=20 Week magazine, where they are a MAJOR advertiser, and got a story = written=20 making them out to be some kind of hero combating health fraud -=20 especially combating "that evil Bob Jones, Cavitat, blah, blah, = blah."

But then the Federal Judge stepped in...

10th=20 District Federal Court Judge Marcia Krieger just didn't see the = amusement=20 in Aetna's tactics, I guess. She took the opportunity to = take a=20 close look at Aetna's cross-complaint - and decided, last Friday, = January=20 27th, 2006, to put an end to Aetna's overbearing ploy. You = can read=20 the Judge's decision by clicking here.

I read a lot=20 of Court documents. So, let me read between the lines, and = tell you=20 my interpretation of what the Judge really said in her = decision: She=20 said:

(1) I=20 don't appreciate principals in a case filing "fake"=20 complaints. I expect, in my court, to have documentation = that=20 substantiates claims, attached to court cases.

(2) I do=20 not approve of "fake" complaints being filed in my Court, = obviously=20 using my Court as a tool to defame someone under the guise of a = legal=20 action.

One last thing...

The=20 American public has become wise to the health insurance industry's = sleazy=20 tactics. A good many health professionals have signs on = their office=20 doors clearly stating "We DO NOT take=20 insurance..."

But=20 the State of California is going ten steps farther. Senate = Bill 840,=20 having already passed the State Senate, is heading for a vote in = the House=20 - where it is expected to pass. SB 840 will eliminate health = insurance, within California, completely, settling on a State run = single=20 payer system. The law will make it illegal for Aetna, or any = other=20 so-called "health insurance company" to do business with = California's=20 thirty four (34) million inhabitants.

The American=20 health care system is rated by the World Health Organization (WHO) = as=20 seventy-second (72) in quality, worldwide. Many third-world = counties=20 rate higher. That same system, the most expensive in the = world, is=20 rated as the "Number=20 one killer of Americans."

Recently, I began = seriously=20 investigating the health insurance industry's role in the American = health=20 care system. I've found that they, far worse than the = pharmaceutical=20 industry (which is bad enough) are responsible for the decline in = American=20 health care. Initial reports, not yet backed up by = government data,=20 show me that out of every dollar spent on health insurance = premiums, only=20 nine (9) percent of that premium goes to paying claims.

You can't run=20 a health care system on nine (9) percent. Nor can we have a=20 situation where an aging "quackpot" Ste= phen=20 Barrett, a man formally discredited in the American Court = System as=20 "biased, and unworthy of credibility," working out of his = basement=20 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and his equally ludicrous cronies, can = decide=20 what health care is going to be available to Americans, and what = is not=20 going to be available.

Understand,=20 the Judge only dismissed Aetna's counter-claim against Cavitat - = Cavitat's=20 case against Aetna is going to trial in a few months - with guns = blazing,=20 so to speak.

Stay tuned...

Tim Bolen - Health = Freedom=20 Advocate