"Dr. Jack," as he was affectionately know to his patients, was born April 14, 1931 in Kansas City, Kansas. At age 13, he left home and enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served two years in a motor vehicle maintenance unit before his true age was discovered and he was given an honorable discharge.
After the war, as an accomplished guitar player, Marvin formed a regionally famous country/western band, The Indiana Drifters. The band headlined at the Chestnut Inn (a popular local dance lounge) for 12 years during the 1950s and 60s and was known on the nightclub and special event circuit well into this decade.
In 1957, Dr. Marvin married the former Patricia A. Clark of Kansas City. That same year, he graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College and opened the first of three clinics in Kansas City, Missouri, where he remained practice until his death. He also maintained a practice in nearby Independence.
Dr. Marvin was an active member of the Missouri State Chiropractic Association. At the time of his death, he was the chairman of the MSCA's legal committee and president of the association's PAC committee.
Dr. Marvin is survived by his wife, Patricia; his mother (Mrs. Mildred Swisher of Overland Park, Kansas); two sons (Clinton and Dr. Ronald L. Marvin,DC); two daughters (Jacqueline and Tamara); one brother (Raymond); three sisters (Florence, Caroline and Mildred); and six grandchildren.
Dr. Marvin's family has suggested that expressions of love and sympathy be sent in the form of donations to: Vanguard Memorial, Cleveland Chiropractic College, 6401 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, Mo 64131.
As an update on our journey with the telemarketers, I am pleased to report their activity has been curtailed, but not stopped, in Kansas City, Missouri. There is some activity by the telemarketers, but the change in the Missouri police records law, Section 660.010 et seq., RSMo. (limiting access to police report information) has largely served the purpose the amendment was designed to accomplish.
In Kansas City, a lingering number of victims are still being contacted by telemarketers within a few days of the collisions. This was reported to the police as it appeared that information was filtering through to the telemarketers from outlying stations. Steps were taken to test the integrity of the record system, but the source of the leaks has not been divulged, if in fact uncovered. It was reassuring to see that the department was concerned enough about the problem to take prompt steps to verify compliance. I understand that polygraphs were employed to authenticate their procedure.
As an example of the effectiveness of the amendment, at the height of the telemarketers' activity, one local chiropractic clinic soliciting accident victims was doing in excess of 100 new patients a month. Now that clinic's traffic has dwindled to about 20 or 25 new patients a month.
Missouri is not alone with its telemarketing problem. A colleague in Arkansas reports that there is a small operation in that state. It is reported that some doctors pay patients referred by the telemarketers a $100.00 or more show-up bonus which is clearly against both federal and state law. We understand that one of the actors in that scheme is related to one of the main figures in the Kansas City operation.
We have also learned that four chiropractic physicians, three chiropractic clinics and two "runners" (laypersons who solicit accident victims for physicians and attorneys) have been indicted in state court in Jacksonville, Florida. The indictment is a culmination of a three-year investigation by state law enforcement officers. The investigation documents some 217 cases and millions of dollars in claims.
The indictment alleges that the runners obtained accident victim information from police departments and then solicited the victims for their co-defendants. It is alleged the chiropractors would then pay the runners $400.00 for each victim referred for care. The indictment charges each with RICO (Florida's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act violations, Section 895.02(4), Florida Statutes, and soliciting false insurance claims, Section 817.234(8), Florida Statutes.
Florida is a "no fault" auto insurance state. Auto insurance policies cover medical benefits up to $10,000 per person per occurrence. The charge is, generally, that the accused treated victims involved in relatively minor accidents but ran up care charges into the thousands of dollars. If guilty as charged, the offenses are third degree felonies which carry maximum imprisonment of up to 10 years.
I understand that a scheme was operating in Indiana until four chiropractors and ten clinics were indicted. I also understand that there is a similar operation in Ohio, but I do not yet know the details. I have learned that the in April 1998, the Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit in state court in Brownsville, Texas against several Behrman Chiropractic Clinics and the now defunct FYI Marketing Services, charging they violated the Texas Illegal Remuneration Statute and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The president of Behrman Chiropractic Clinics, who was licensed as a chiropractor in Texas in 1980, claims, "We haven't done anything wrong." The suit claims Behrman used accident reports obtained from law enforcement agencies and hired solicitors to contact accident victims, including children injured in school bus accidents, for referral to Behrman. Behrman hired FYI Marketing Services to solicit accident victims by phone for $50.00 an hour. Under Texas law, one cannot pay another to solicit patients for a health care clinic.
We understand that the president of Behrman Chiropractic Clinics is also licensed in the state of Louisiana, and it is he who runs Physicians Assistance Group, a telemarketing firm that solicited accident victims in Kansas City by using WATTS lines originating in Kenner, Louisiana, then referred the victims to a chiropractic clinic in Kansas City. The change in the Missouri law mentioned above virtually wiped out that business. We have been told by a source on Louisiana's licensing board that an investigation is being conducted into this doctor's activities.
Texas aggressively pursues those who use the phones to improperly solicit accident victims. Two years ago, the president of one of Austin's largest chiropractic clinics was arrested and charged with organized crime by Lubbock police for his alleged role in a scam to obtain accident reports by bribing a Lubbock police clerk with payments of about $1,000 per month.
In this case, it was claimed that the chiropractor in question and others were bribing the police clerk to obtain police report information before it was available to the general public. This way, they would get the jump on contacting accident victims, which would give them a distinct advantage in the competition for new patients. That is the same scam that was running in Kansas City. The penalty in Texas for the offense charged -- organized crime -- is five to 99 years or life in prison. That's an expensive way to get new business.
It's been an interesting journey battling these telemarketers, but not one I relished taking. The telemarketers' scam in Kansas City was very damaging to my practice. Although we are steadily moving back to normal patient numbers, it took an enormous toll financially. I am not one to throw the first stone at others, but I have to admit I feel at least a small measure of satisfaction when I see these guys get busted.
Years ago, I was leafing through a copy of Life magazine when I saw a picture of the aftermath left when an 18-wheeler hauling dynamite exploded in the southwest part of the country. It left a huge hole in the road, destroyed everything near it, and vaporized the driver, I guess. I thought that the men who drive these rigs surely are well-paid, but is it really worth it?
As I read about my fellow chiropractors getting mixed up with these telemarketing scams, I think about that truck driver: it sure pays well, but what happens when it all blows up! To my struggling colleagues who feel tempted to jump on these money-making telemarketers' bandwagons, I say, "Before you jump, think about the day it all blows up .. then where will you be?"
It is said that the grist mills of the gods grind slowly ... much like the wheels of justice ... and as sure as God makes green apples, in the end it will all come crashing down. When someone comes to you with a plan to attract new patients and it sounds too good to be true, do yourself a favor and stay away.
Jack L. Marvin