Foster care children are guniea pigs

At least in Texas there appears to be justice for children within the foster care system that are being prescribed psychotropic medications to keep them compliant with the system. If those of you didn't watch the CBC documentary 'Finding Normal' you can do so here - the video link is available for you to watch it.

An overview: A child 'J' was diagnosed with various mental illnesses - some of the rationale for diagnosing them were based on adverse symptoms of the drugs he was given for ADHD - not because he actual had the condition. Here is a list with the amounts of drugs he was given:

50 mg of Ritalin
500 mg of Divalproex
500 mg of Seroquel.

500 miligrams of Seroquel! Seroquel is an anti-psychotic drug meant for schizophrenic patients. This child does not have schizophrenia - or at least the idiotic physician didn't diagnose that yet. 25 mg can make an adult feel out of sorts. Imagine what a child on that amount of drugs must be going through but don't have the capability at such a young age to describe that they are having adverse reactions.

What is more nefarious and criminal is the conclusion by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario from a complaint against the physician:

Last spring, the college cleared the psychiatrist; concluding "the medications and dosages prescribed by Dr. Massabki are standard, and are medications commonly prescribed for young patients in similar situations with good effect."

The CPSO is condoning and telling us that it was ok to drug this child in the manner the physician did and that more children within the mental health system in Ontario are being targeted in a cruel and unusual game of irresponsible, incompetant, harmful and discriminatory medicine. If this isn't a reason to remove the CPSO from investigating and disciplining physicians and putting it in the hands of courts so it can determine Charter rights - I don't know what is.

The government has done nothing to investigate health care fraud and the government's relationship to big pharma.

I tried contacting Katherine Clarke spokesperson of the CPSO but she did not return my phone call - although that may be because I told her I was going to file a human rights complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission using this documentary as evidence (as well as many other reports) and ask them to investigate under the definition of crimes against humanity when it comes to Ontario's treatment of mental health patients by physicians and 'health care practitioners'.

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Contact: Will Holford or Dick Ellis
512-463-4070
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's Statement * Press Conference (639K MP3)

(Austin)-- "I started the ongoing investigation of possible Medicaidfraud and abuse in the foster care prescription drug program inNovember 2004."

As mama and a grandmamma, I am concerned with the health and well-being of our foster kids."As Comptroller, I am also concerned with the potential Medicaid prescription drug fraud and abuse in our foster care system because of the high cost of many of these prescriptions."

Under my statutory responsibility for the Texas Health Care Claims Study conducted by my office each biennium, I requested the prescription drug and claims data for foster care children for fiscalyears 2004 and 2005 to determine whether these medications are being prescribed to make children more submissive or to simply line the pockets of the unscrupulous and the uncaring - or both.

"It is not uncommon for one child to have prescriptions totaling more than $1,000 per month and for some children to have up to 19 different prescriptions within one month."

Based on the data I have received:

* $39 million was the total cost of all prescriptions for fosterchildren in fiscal year 2004;

* Of that, more than $29 million were for powerful, mind-alteringpsychotropic drugs;

* Of the 12,000 foster children who received psychotropic drugs infiscal year 2004, each child averaged 21 psychotropic drug prescriptions during the year.

"According to the Food and Drug Administration, many of these drugs are not labeled for use in children and have serious side effects, such as suicidal tendencies, diabetes, and cardiac arrhythmia. I am particularly concerned about the use and side effects of the atypical antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Zyprexa."

A clear pattern of overmedication and potential misdiagnosis of fosterchildren is evident. This potential for Medicaid fraud and the possibility of long-term health problems in these children is alarming.

"Today I am sending a letter to Gov. Rick Perry calling on him to immediately instruct his Texas Health and Human Services Commission to release the fiscal year 2005 data I requested and need to complete my investigation." Gov. Perry's Health and Human Services Commission has been stonewalling my investigation since I launched it in November 2004.

"The Commission has given the same Medicaid information I have requestedto the Cyber Security and Emergency Preparedness Institute in theEngineering and Computer Science School at the University of Texas at Dallas for its Texas Health Analytics Information Technology project."

On April 25, my general counsel formally requested the same data from the Health and Human Services Commission to provide this data.

"On May 2, the Health and Human Services Commission's general counselsent a letter to my office refusing to provide the requested data."It is unfathomable that Gov. Perry's appointed commissioner would provide this information to the University of Texas at Dallas and not provide it to satisfy a legislative mandate.

"The stonewalling at every turn by Gov. Perry's Health and HumanServices Commission to provide this data may be endangering thephysical and mental health of thousands of children in the state'sfoster care system."I urge Gov. Perry to act immediately. The lives of our most preciousand most vulnerable resource -- our forgotten children -- are atstake." -end-