Public Citizen issued the following three press releases June 5, 2002

Public Citizen Releases Database With Names of 6,700 "Questionable Doctors" in 12 States - Most Still Practicing

Consumers Can Search Online for Their Doctor

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen today released new information on approximately 6,700 physicians who have been disciplined by medical and osteopathic boards in 12 states and by other agencies for incompetence, misprescribing drugs, sexual misconduct, criminal convictions, ethical lapses and other offenses. Most of the doctors were not required to stop practicing, even temporarily.

The states are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.

As part of the launch, Public Citizen is also publishing a California/Hawaii edition of Questionable Doctors in book form. Public Citizen will add other states to the online database and possibly publish more books throughout the year.

Examples of doctors who were disciplined but are currently allowed to continue practicing include:

A California doctor who was convicted of battery after attacking his billing clerk and office partner;

A New Hampshire doctor who delayed a Caesarean section, causing a baby to be born in a vegetative state and eventually die;

A Massachusetts doctor who allowed a drug company representative to be present at a patient examination, telling the patient the observer was a "preceptor";

An Indiana doctor who engaged in sexual misconduct with students ranging in age from 14 to 17; and,

An Illinois doctor who twice perforated a uterus during two separate elective abortions.

"For many of the most serious offenses by doctors, the disciplinary actions imposed by state medical boards have been dangerously lenient," said Sidney Wolfe, M.D., director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group. "Choosing a doctor is one of the most critical decisions a consumer will make, but unfortunately, finding good, reliable information about physicians has been exceedingly difficult. We believe that to make the right choices about health care, consumers need to know whether their doctor has been disciplined for any offense and the details of the offense."

The majority of doctors disciplined for the five most serious offenses - sexual abuse or sexual misconduct; substandard care, incompetence or negligence; criminal conviction; misprescribing or overprescribing drugs; and substance abuse - were not required to stop practicing even temporarily. Therefore it is likely they are still practicing and that their patients are unaware of their offenses.

"All too often, state medical boards are more concerned about protecting the reputations of doctors than doing their job, which is to protect unsuspecting patients from doctors who may be incompetent or negligent," Wolfe said.

The Public Citizen online database lists doctors disciplined from 1992 through 2001. Information comes from all 50 state medical boards, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Food and Drug Administration. Previously listed physicians sanctioned in 1990 and 1991 were removed.

Using the information from the state and federal agencies, Public Citizen created a database containing the doctor's name, degree, license number, date of birth, location, the disciplinary state or agency, the date of the disciplinary action, the nature of the discipline and available information about the case. Public Citizen asked all the state medical boards to provide information about court actions that may have overruled or changed previous disciplinary actions. Any disciplinary actions that were overturned by courts or for which litigation ended in the doctor's favor were deleted from the database.

Public Citizen has long sought greater consumer access to information about doctors, and there have been recent improvements in making that information available. Most state medical boards now provide some physician discipline information on the Internet, but the information about disciplinary actions varies greatly, is often inadequate and can be difficult for people to access.

Information about doctor discipline, including state sanctions, hospital disciplinary actions and medical malpractice awards is now contained in the National Practitioner Data Bank, but that database is kept secret from the public.

"HMOs, hospitals and medical boards can look at the National Practitioner Data Bank, but consumers cannot," Wolfe said. "It is time we lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding doctors and allowed the people who have the most to lose from questionable doctors to get the information they need to protect themselves and their families. But until Congress finds the will to open up this information, Public Citizen will provide the public with as much of the data as we can obtain."

"Nationwide, an extremely tiny fraction of doctors face disciplinary action," Wolfe said. "States need to start doing a better job of protecting the public."

Public Citizen recommends that states promptly make public all of their board disciplinary actions, malpractice payouts and hospital disciplinary actions; strengthen medical practice statutes; restructure their medical boards to sever any links with state medical societies; and increase funding and staffing for medical boards.

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$10.8 Million in Soft Money Flows to Top 527 Groups Gearing Up For Congressional Elections

Amount May Be More, But Reports Are Missing in Flawed Disclosure System - Including Those of Katherine Harris' Group

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Shadowy "527" political organizations scrambled to collect nearly $11 million in soft money during the first three months of 2002 as they prepared for the November congressional elections, according to a report released today by Public Citizen. But lingering problems in the 527 financial disclosure system, which has been poorly administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), leave an incomplete picture of activities by these groups, which can accept unlimited contributions from unions, corporations and wealthy individuals.

Public Citizen analyzed the first quarter disclosure reports for 2002 and found - among other trends - that Jane Fonda continued to be the largest soft money donor in federal politics. During the first quarter of 2002, Fonda gave $400,000 to Pro-Choice Vote, bringing her total donations to the abortion rights group to $12.7 million since July 1, 2000, when 527 groups were first required to disclose their finances to the IRS.

The Public Citizen report, Off to the Races, follows up on two earlier reports Public Citizen issued on 527 groups. First quarter disclosure reports showed that 527s controlled by members of Congress ("politician 527s") were busy snaring soft money - mainly from corporations - before such contributions are banned by the McCain-Feingold reform law, which takes effect after the November election.

Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) had the most success, as his New American Optimists 527 collected $471,000, including $100,000 contributions each from trial lawyers Wade Byrd and John Williams. ARMPAC, the 527 of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), collected $397,517, with most of the receipts coming from corporate donors such as Philip Morris ($50,000), U.S. Tobacco ($25,000) and BellSouth ($25,000). DeLay's chief deputy whip, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), garnered $275,309, mostly from corporations such as Verizon ($50,000) and BellSouth ($25,000). During that quarter these two telecommunications companies and others worked with Blunt and other Republican leaders to push key telecommunications legislation through the House.

Highly partisan "non-politician 527s" - those not formally controlled by federal officeholders - were even more successful at garnering soft money in early 2002. These groups, which will still be able to receive soft money after the November elections, were led by Impac 2000 ($1.4 million in receipts), a 527 group that fights for Democrats in congressional redistricting battles. Other top non-politician 527s were the New Democrat Network ($595,300), EMILY's List ($525,355) and the Republican Leadership Council ($510,750).

First quarter receipts showed some 527 groups increasing their efforts to collect soft money as they moved from 2001 into an election year. The top 50 527 groups collected $14.1 million in the second half of 2001 (groups report just twice in odd-numbered years, but quarterly in even-numbered years). They were on a more aggressive pace in the first three months of 2002, nabbing $10.8 million - a pace that projects to $21.6 million over six months.

"Because 527 groups were not required to disclose their finances during the comparable period in the last election cycle, there is no way to know if 527s are more active this cycle," said Frank Clemente, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch. "But we expect a surge in spending by these special interest groups as the November election nears."

In all, after their first-quarter 2002 hauls, the 100 527 groups believed to be most active in federal politics have collected $129 million in soft money since July 1, 2000.

First quarter disclosure reports - or the lack of them - showed how difficult it may be to track 527 groups as they try to influence the 2002 elections. Public Citizen continued to find glitches and mistakes in the IRS system. For example, financial reports for 10 of the 50 groups known to be most active in federal politics could not be found in the IRS Web-based disclosure system one month after the first quarter 2002 reporting deadline. It's not clear if the groups failed to file or whether the IRS lost their reports; the IRS can't say with certainty.

In other cases, reports on the IRS Web site appear and then mysteriously disappear without explanation. For instance, as of May 31, 2002, the most recent disclosure report for "American Values in Democracy Project, Inc.," a group chaired by Katherine Harris, Florida's secretary of state, showed nothing but four entirely blank pages.

"These partisan groups are likely to become major conduits for soft money banned by the McCain-Feingold reform law," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. "Yet the IRS disclosure system is riddled with flaws, lax in oversight and seemingly indifferent to 527 groups that appear to evade the law. This leaves the public in the dark about the influence of these groups as the 2002 election unfolds."

In a May 2 press release, the IRS announced an amnesty program allowing delinquent 527s to submit late filings without paying any penalties. An IRS spokesman told Public Citizen that the agency will start enforcing 527 regulations after July 15, 2002.

Public Citizen Demands Disclosure of Pro-Yucca Campaign's Ties to the Nuclear Industry

Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy a "Front Group" for NEI

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Public Citizen today sent a letter to Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy to request full disclosure of the group's funding sources and membership. The Alliance has launched an aggressive television and newspaper advertising campaign in support of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.

The Alliance surfaced following Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's Feb. 14 recommendation in favor of the nuclear dump, which is widely opposed by environmental and public interest organizations. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee narrowly approved the Yucca Mountain proposal 13-10 today. The full Senate is expected to vote on the controversial issue in the coming weeks.

In statements made to the media, the Alliance has claimed to represent "more than 26 million consumers, seniors, environmentalists, business leaders and union members," but the group does not have a Web site and is not registered as a lobbyist organization. However, Public Citizen has learned that the Alliance is housed at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the nuclear industry's lobbying organization. Alliance director Sherry Reilly has worked for NEI in public relations for several years.

"This group appears to be intentionally obscuring information about its membership and funding," said Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen president. "This Alliance is nothing more than a front group for NEI. Its pro-Yucca Mountain advertising campaign, which claims to represent the views of consumers, is misleading and disingenuous absent full disclosure of the Alliance's close ties to the commercial nuclear industry."

The nuclear industry has heavily lobbied in support of the Yucca Mountain proposal because it is desperate for a "solution" to the nuclear waste problem to help pave the way for an expansion in nuclear power generation. According to Public Citizen research, current U.S. senators and 2002 senatorial candidates have taken more than $5 million from the nuclear power industry in political action committee "hard money" contributions since 1997.

The nuclear industry contributed more than $82,000 to Abraham's failed bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate prior to his controversial Yucca Mountain site recommendation, and Abraham's top nuclear contributors in 2000 spent $25 million lobbying Congress in that year alone.

"Lawmakers should not fooled by the Alliance's efforts to put a friendly face on the industry that continues to generate 2,200 tons of high-level radioactive waste each year," Claybrook said. "When the Senate votes on the repository proposal, the agenda of the well-financed nuclear industry should not be allowed to dominate concerns for public health, safety and the environment. This is just one more example of industry maneuvering and manipulating to cover their tracks and pretend they represent the public interest."

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