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WHISTLEBLOWER
Air Date: Friday, June 14, 2019
Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on CBS
Episode Title: (#204) "Doctors vs. Midwives: Dangerous Deliveries/Cremation, Kickbacks and Corruption: The Case Against Abanks Mortuary"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

WHISTLEBLOWERS EXPOSE A SCAM INVOLVING INEXPERIENCED MIDWIVES OVERSEEING HIGH-RISK PREGNANCIES AND A SCHEME INVOLVING KICKBACKS AT A MORTUARY, ON "WHISTLEBLOWER," FRIDAY, JUNE 14

"Doctors vs. Midwives: Dangerous Deliveries/Cremation, Kickbacks and Corruption: The Case Against Abanks Mortuary" - When Dr. Judy Robinson began working as the medical director of OB-GYN services Healthnet, a network of clinics associated with Indiana's largest hospital, she was shocked at the number of high-risk pregnancies that resulted in poor outcomes for both mothers and newborns in low-income communities. As she looked into the problem further, she concluded that inadequately trained midwives had been placed in charge of high-risk pregnancies without being properly supervised by OB-GYN physicians and were operating outside of their licensure.

Although Dr. Robinson worked alongside other doctors in the practice, to try to implement policy changes that would ensure high-risk pregnancies received proper supervision by trained personnel, her efforts were continually stymied by hospital administrators. Eventually, she came to realize that the practice was motivated by greed, staffing the clinics primarily with midwives, yet charging Medicaid as if physicians were in fact supervising the high-risk cases. Believing the lives were at risk due to the fraud, Dr. Robinson decided to blow the whistle.

Host Alex Ferrer investigates the dangerous insurance fraud at IU Health/Healthnet, and another case about kickbacks at a mortuary, on WHISTLEBLOWER, Friday, June 14 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

He knows some people may think it's creepy, but Barry Taul wanted to be a funeral director ever since the eighth grade. And that's exactly what he did for his entire career - until one employer threatened to cremate him alive and make his life hell, all in an effort to intimidate Barry into keeping his mouth shut about a kickback scheme that was costing taxpayers more than two million dollars.

While working as an embalmer at Abanks Mortuary & Crematory in Birmingham, Ala., he overheard his boss, Jed Nagel, having a conversation with two of his clients, directors of the Alabama Organ Center, part of the University of Alabama's federally funded Health Services Foundation. It was clearly a conversation he was not supposed to hear, with Nagel telling the Organ Center directors, "Look, if you want more money, you're going to have to start padding these bills better."

What followed was an escalating series of threats and professional blackballing from Nagel, who was concerned that Taul could put an end to his illegal - and profitable - activities. Out of options and fearful for his family's safety, Taul filed a whistleblower lawsuit.

WHISTLEBLOWER is produced by CBS News Productions and CBS Television Studios. Alex Ferrer is the host. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer. Anthony Batson, Alex Ferrer and Ted Eccles are the executive producers. Peter Bull is the senior producer. Alicia Tejada is the senior coordinating producer. Lincoln Farr, Ruth Reiss are the producers. Dani Levy is the associate producer. Marcus Balsam, James Taylor, and Greg Socher are the editors.

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