Dr. Benjamin Rush, the father of American Psychiatry, a visionary clinician and academic, was among three physician signatories on the declaration of independence for this United States of America. Dr. Rush, a Philadelphia native, became a symbol of the spirit of medical innovation and his silhouette became in 1965 the logo of the American Psychiatric Association.
As a practicing psychiatrists and internist and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association I was elected by my peers to become the president of the Lehigh Valley Psychiatric Society (2016-2020). I followed the principles of medical practice and integrity embodied by Dr. Benjamin Rush. He was a member of the Pennsylvania convention for the adoption of the Constitution of the United States of America. Dr. Rush clearly stated his opinion “The Constitution of this Republic should make special provision for medical freedom”.
Following the footsteps of Dr. Rush who established his medical practice in Philadelphia in 1769, I established Blue Mountain Psychiatry in Easton, Pennsylvania in 2012. This Republic had great faith in its physicians especially the father of American Psychiatry. In 1799 President John Adams appointed Dr. Rush as the Treasurer of the United States Mint. It is with a spirit of patriotism, that I answered the call of duty, emulating Dr. Rush’s exceptionalism, to assist the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) in the care of elderly poor qualified Medicare beneficiaries in Rural Pennsylvania nursing homes, who suffered from severe psychiatric illnesses, and some lived in difficult conditions. Our practice deployed psychotherapeutic techniques, along with medications to alleviate the suffering of those fellow elderly American languishing in nursing homes and suffering from psychiatric and psychological difficulties.
In 2017 CMS reported a historic reduction in the utilization of psychotropic medications and antipsychotics in elderly populations in nursing homes around the country and in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. CMS in their own reporting indicated that Pennsylvania practices contributed to the savings of up to $50 million for the Medicare system. A good percentage can be attributed to our practice Blue Mountain Psychiatry.
Notwithstanding these exceptional services to the elderly population in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in 2017 the United States Department of Justice and the office of Inspector General for Department of Health and Human Services initiated an investigation of Blue Mountain Psychiatry questioning the psychotherapeutic interventions provided to elderly Medicare beneficiary patients in nursing homes. Unfortunately, no psychiatrist or certified coders were consulted on these investigations. We had followed the honest time-proven traditions of the practice of psychiatry as Benjamin Rush wrote in 1812 and published in Philadelphia the first textbook on mental disease in the United States entitled “Medical Inquiries and Observations upon Disease of the Mind”. His writings have foreshadowed modern psychotherapeutic techniques for the two centuries.
On a cloudy November day in 2022, the Honorable Jacqueline Romero, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania flanked by the prosecuting assistant United States attorney Joan E Burnes broadcast the news from a high rise building in Downtown Philadelphia “Lehigh Valley Psychiatrist stole from Medicare in a healthcare fraud scheme”. The Government of the United States alleged charges of fraud for psychotherapy services claimed not to be provided. Such irony that the location of this announcement was two blocks away from where Dr. Benjamin Rush practiced, fought pandemics and wrote and published his book and was buried at Christ Church Burial Ground. Dr. Benjamin Rush had fostered the ascendency of Philadelphia as the early medical center of the Nation. Yet despite the existence of four flourishing medical school in Philadelphia that graduates’ tens of trained psychiatrist yearly, these allegations of fraud remained only opinions of the United States Department of Justice attorneys without any qualified medical expert support.
In contrary to Dr. Benjamin Rush’s ardent support of the constitution of the United States, investigators prosecuting these allegations strayed from their sworn commitment to the constitution and the fourth amendment. Administrative subpoenas backed by armed agents were deployed to extract information under the threat of incarceration. Search warrants that were drafted depended on fables and tall tales and yielded records that supported the provision of legitimate and clinically appropriate psychotherapeutic services.
The investigating agents from the department of health and human services office of the inspector general did not take into consideration the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. Dr. Benjamin Rush almost lost his life supporting our constitutional rights. Despite proclamation invoking the fifth amendment of the constitution to not utter any statement against self-interest, agents and prosecutors’ mis-attributed hearsay statements and presented inaccurate descriptions of our pioneering and legitimate psychotherapeutic services, delivered by telemedicine, that addressed the plight of the elderly poor Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes in Pennsylvania.
Despite ongoing investigations and government intrusions, my practice staff and I stepped up to display our patriotism and idealism as exemplified by Dr. Rush. In 1793 and 1798 He remained in Philadelphia during the devastating and deadly yellow fever epidemics, and heroically led and coordinated efforts to treat and contain yellow fever. Our practice also stepped up to the alter of sacrifice for our beloved United States of America, and Blue Mountain Psychiatry participated in the COVID vaccination campaign in 2021 providing, at no cost to the government, more than 3000 Moderna COVID-19 injections to fellow community members in Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
Following Dr. Rush’ zealous convictions about the treatment of psychiatric illness and fervent support of the constitution, I elected to benefit from the sixth amendment of the constitution that Dr. Rush had advocated all his life. A public trial by impartial jury was held in May 2024 to prosecute the allegations of fraud against me. In a public forum twelve courageous Pennsylvanians heard the facts about the legitimacy of our services. Witnesses had to appear at trial and were confronted in accordance with the sixth amendment. Our experts and practicing psychiatrists testified as to our services that followed the tradition of psychiatry in providing honest and medically beneficial services. Our expert coder followed the direction of the American Medical Association current procedural terminology, an organization founded by one of disciples of Dr. Rush. It took the Jury only a few hours to return a NOT GUILTY verdict, vindicating us.
Rest in peace the Honorable Professor Physician Benjamin Rush, your legacy advocating for the constitution has prevailed. Professor Rush’ teachings will continue to be a beacon of honesty and transparency in providing legitimate psychotherapeutic services to fellow Americans in a time of need. May God have mercy on your soul, Amen.
