Foot Doc’s Second Murder-for-Hire Accusation; Doc Accused of Drugging, Raping Women

Former New York podiatrist Ira Bernstein has been charged for trying once again to have his estranged wife murdered. Bernstein previously served almost 5 years in prison for plotting a hit against his wife. (LoHud.com)

New York gastroenterologist Zhi Alan Cheng, MD, has been accused of drugging two women and raping them. (NBC New York)

Virginia pharmacist Ronald Beasley II was sentenced to 2 years in prison for his role in a scheme that siphoned $1 million from Medicare by billing for expensive compounded drug creams that they never purchased or gave to patients. Patients received inexpensive compounded creams instead, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

A woman who posed as a nurse in eight states and was charged with stealing the identity of a Florida nurse and using her license to obtain jobs has been denied bond. (WSB-TV)

Jamere Mykel Miller has been accused of killing Patrice Wilson, his ex-girlfriend and a nurse at Detroit Medical Center; authorities say he shot her multiple times. (Detroit Free Press)

Colorado physician Francis Joseph, MD, was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for stealing about $250,000 from two COVID relief programs. Prosecutors said Joseph used the funds inappropriately for his own personal expenses, according to the DOJ.

Two transgender women filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Tennessee’s employee benefits program discriminates against transgender people. Both women’s doctors deemed gender-related surgeries necessary to treat their gender dysphoria, but Tennessee’s Comprehensive Medical and Hospitalization Program denies coverage of surgery for “sex transformations.” (MedCity News)

VHS of Michigan — which includes Detroit Medical Center (DMC), Vanguard Health Systems, and Tenet Healthcare — will pay almost $30 million to settle claims that it provided kickbacks to certain referring physicians. Prosecutors alleged that two hospitals in the DMC system provided the services of advanced practice professionals to 13 doctors at no cost or below fair market value, because of their large number of patient referrals to DMC facilities, according to the DOJ.

Planned Parenthood has sued to block a new Kansas law that requires healthcare providers to tell patients that medication abortion can be reversed — a claim that’s not supported by evidence. (Reuters)

Merck has sued to halt the Medicare drug price negotiation program enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reuters)

A woman in Washington state who has tuberculosis and has resisted treatment was put in jail so that she could be treated for the infectious disease. (KOMO News)