For the first time the Indian American community engaged the Attorney General’s Health Care Bureau and Manhattan District Attorneys office in a constructive dialogue and partnership. The educational and social evening was hosted by Chairman Samir Chopra of the New York Indian American Republican Committee. Guest Speakers included Mr. Joseph Baker – New York Attorney General: Bureau Chief Health Care Division, Tom Wornum – Chief of the Manhattan District Attorneys Special Prosecutions Bureau and Rashmi Vaisht – Director of the Attorney Generals Health Care Fraud Bureau.

Guest speakers had discussed in detail 1.) Business policy issues which will be affecting physicians, patients and managed care plans over the next several years 2.) Laws which will affect health care providers and how they will need to change and adapt to new requirements in the future 3.) Actual day to day examples of abusive physician, attorney, nursing home, pharmaceutical and patient egress and appropriate ways to mitigate this behavior. The audience was captivated by several approaches that the respected offices had given to increase reimbursement structures from there Managed Care Plans and how to demand appropriate services for patients and / or uncovered services. They further gave case examples of practical day to day situations that physicians see in there offices and what critical patients will encounter in there lives. The Chief of Special Prosecutions – spoke about Fraud from a detailed perspective on how fraud is identified, legislatively curtailed, prosecuted and mitigated on a long term basis. He gave varied examples from financial crimes to poor standards of care by Nursing home and pharmacy owners.

This was a landmark event as Indian Americans are starting to engage Government offices in a dialogue of learning to become partners of the future. The second generation is here to stay. Our intent is to gain the learning’s from Government so that our community is not targeted and can become more progressive members of the American fabric. As a community we are learning to interface and engage differently. The Guest Speakers where incredibly open to Indian Americans and are known nationally as the foremost experts having debated many of the same issues on BBC, CNN, Time Magazine 60 minutes and The New York Times.

Also in attendance was Dr. Parveen Chopra, Commissioner of Human Rights, Mark Moskowitz former Deputy Attorney General of the Medicare Fraud Control Unit and Deputy Regional Director of NYC, Gregory Naclerio former Deputy Attorney General and in charge of the Long Island Offices; Gurbir Grewal from the Department of Justice – United States Attorneys,Vinoo Varghese from the Kings County District Attorneys office and Julie Trivedi from the Queens County District Attorneys Office were also present.