Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Last week, Riverside Superior Court Judge, Daniel Ottolia, overturned California's assisted suicide law when he ruled that the legislature acted outside the scope of its authority [when enacting it]
California passed the state's assisted suicide law in a special health care funding session after the legislature failed to pass the assisted suicide bill in its normal session.
Judge Ottolia, held that "the End of Life Option Act [legalizing assisted suicide] does not fall within the scope of access to healthcare services," and that it "is not a matter of health care funding."
Emily Mongan, Staff Writer
A California physician who falsely certified more than
70 patients as terminally ill in order to refer them for hospice care
was sentenced to four years in federal prison last week. He will also
pay $1.3 million in restitution.
Boyao Huang, 43, is one of two physicians convicted as part
of a $8.8 million fraud scheme operated by Covina Hospice Care of
Covina, CA. Huang and the second doctor, Sri Wijegoonaratna, 61,
conducted “assessments” for patients and certified them as terminally
ill, regardless of the assessment's outcome.
At least 79 Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries were deemed
terminally ill and referred to CHC, “even though the vast majority of
them were not dying,” the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central
District of California said in a press release.