DALLAS, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Dralves Edwards, a board-certified family physician in Dallas, today filed a civil case in the U.S. Supreme Court against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, the contractor for Medicare.
For the past 13 years, Edwards has challenged the integrity and unethical practices of Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) and is confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in a responsible way that every Medicare provider and patient benefits.
In 2003, the original suit was filed in Dallas district court alleging that BCBS engaged in fraud, gross negligence, and criminal acts that, according to Edwards, forced him to close his doors. Today, he works as a hospital emergency room physician.
BCBS responded to the suit by removing it to federal court, but the case was remanded back to district court. BCBS then filed a "No Evidence" Motion for Summary Judgment that was granted sovereign immunity by the lower courts.
Edwards acknowledges that lower court decisions have historically disagreed with well established U.S. Supreme Court cases (i.e., Ardary vs. Aetna; Heckler vs. Ringer; and Kelly vs. Advantage Health, Rochester vs. Travelers).
In 1997, Edwards says BCBS caused irreparable harm to his thriving practice and marred his professional name when he was placed on a 100 percent prepayment review. For three consecutive years, 96 percent of his claims were denied; his practice was 90 percent Medicare.
"I provided free transportation and made house calls that saved Medicare millions of dollars," reports Edwards. "These were patients who probably would have ended up in the emergency room."
In October 1996, Edwards was featured in USA Today as "One of the few doctors in America making house calls."
BCBS denied most of Edwards' claims as "non-covered services and not re
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