ALLSTATE SUING PROVIDERS TO GET $16 MILLION.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer Continuing its battle against what it says is medical billing fraud, Allstate Insurance Co. on Thursday sued 21 California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). health care providers, including nine clinics in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area, for $16 million. Defendants in the Los Angeles area include the Van Nuys Family Health Center at 14402 Haynes St. and its owner, chiropractor chiropractor a practitioner in chiropractic. chiropractor A health professional trained in chiropractic; chiropractors do not perform surgery or prescribe drugs; of 50,000 licensed chiropractors in the US, many practice 'straight' chiropractic, ie Behrouz Meshkinfam. The Northbrook, Ill., insurer An individual or company who, through a contractual agreement, undertakes to compensate specified losses, liability, or damages incurred by another individual. An insurer is frequently an insurance company and is also known as an underwriter. claims that the doctors, chiropractors and medical facilities it is targeting submitted excessive bills for treatments provided. ``A guy comes in with a little neck pain and they were treating it like it was a life-threatening condition,'' said Los Angeles attorney Dennis B. Kass, who is representing Allstate in the local actions. ``In fact they were doing nothing. We have 307 sets of medical records sitting before us and they are all the same,'' he said. Meshkinfam was the only person named in the suits that could be reached for comment. ``I don't have any information about that,'' he said of Allstate allegations. Other individuals named in the suit are Dr. Hisham Muhyeldin, Dr. Feras Haddad and chiropractors Noland Coons, Elyas Khury and Jacqueline Ganjeh. Their hometowns were not available. The other medical facilities are Tri-Star Family Health Center, 10640 E. Valley Blvd. in El Monte El Monte (ĕl mŏn`tē), city (1990 pop. 106,209), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. A residential, industrial, and commercial city in the San Gabriel Valley, El Monte manufactures furniture, electronic equipment, semiconductors, owned by Muhyeldin; Wilshire Tri-Star Medical Clinic at 2500 Wilshire Blvd., owned by Haddad; Carson Community Medical Clinic, 675 E. University Drive and the Carson Medical Clinic at the same address, both owned by Haddad; Wilshire Rampart Health Center, owned by Muhyeldin; Value Care Medical Clinic at 2412 S. Azusa Ave. in West Covina West Covina, city (1990 pop. 96,086), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the San Gabriel valley; settled 1905, inc. 1923. Before World War II, West Covina was a small rural community where walnuts, wheat, and livestock were raised. , owned by Muhyeldin; Anaheim Walk In Medical Clinic at 842 S. Brookhurst in Anaheim, owned by Muhyeldin; and El Monte Valley Health Center at 10640 E. Valley Blvd., owned by Haddad. Allstate has taken an aggressive stance against medical insurance fraud. Last year, the company filed a $107 million lawsuit lawsuit: see procedure; tort. in California against a ring that Allstate alleges has been bilking insurers since at least 1992. The case is pending. Kass said that the company's first step following Thursday's filing will be trying to settle the cases out of court. |
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