District Doctor Dollars

     The recent demand for access to Broward Health financial records from Florida Attorney General* Pam Bondi begs certain questions.
    Like:
    What is the difference between a financial relationship, compensation, and enrichment?
    And between the three, which is taxable and which is not?
    Specially, as noted in her letter to Broward Health Attorney Linda Bauman, Bondi's demands are based "upon North Broward Hospital District (dba Broward Healh) having entered into financial relationships with physicians that violated the Physician Self-Referral Law, 42 U.S.C 1395nn, the Florida Anti-Kickback Statute 456.054, Florida Statutes and False Claims  Act 678.081 et seq., Florida Statutes."    
      Specifically, in her 3/10/2016 letter to Ms. Bauman, Attorney General Bondi seeks District records involving nine (9)"physicians whose contracts (with the District) Florida contends were improper and in violation of the Self Referral Law".
   Below are the nine physicians cited in Bondi's letter - and the District-paid (taxpayer) cost of their services:
                                               2010                2016
                                               Spent              (Budget) 
    George Caldwell                  $2,025,461      $1,483,664
   Michael Chizner                   $762,387         $1,024,639
   Violetta McCormack              $1,236,425     $1,112,248
   Hector Rodriguez-Cortez      $769,044        $647,809
   Rudolph Roskos                   $803,109        $645,907
   John Rozanski                      $976,172        $939,067
   Ashok Sharma                      $1,683,368     $1,532,947
   Erol Yoldas                           $2,368,505     $2,111,298
   Shazia Zafar                         $957,375        0
      Source: Commission-approved District Budgets
 
     NOTE - In the interest of full disclosure, I was involved in numerous hospital issues during my four years as a policy analyst employed by and answering directly to then Attorney General Robert A. Butterworth. JKdeG