Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, along with the district attorney’s office, is investigating 142 patients alleged to have lied about where they live and how much they earn in order to receive free medical care at the public hospital. Some of the patients reside outside Dallas County, making them ineligible for charity care from Parkland, while others live in the county but claimed to have a lower income than they actually did, reports The Dallas Morning News. One patient, for example, owns a large home in Collin County and a business in Arkansas, but received breast cancer treatment at Parkland at a cost of $100,000. The cumulative cost of the care that was fraudulently received since last September amounts to $4 million. The individuals may be criminally charged with theft by deception, and Parkland may also file civil charges against them to recover the cost of their medical care. At least two patients who provided false information have agreed to pay their medical bills. “This has been going on for far too long with no consequences,” Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield told the Morning News. “They think Parkland is free. We want to get that out of people’s minds.” Parkland has since installed an automated system to verify patients’ residency and income.
