Doctors That Harm: The Real Stories Insurance Companies Against Prop 46 Don't Want You To Know, Part 7 of Consumer Watchdog Campaign Series

Today's series covers Dr. Thomas Goldenberg - Cocaine and Sleeping Pill Abuser Was Repeatedly High At Work

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Oct 22, 2014, 02:22 ET

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In 2007, Dr. Goldenberg was first found to be high while on duty. A nurse heard him slurring his words and saying inappropriate things. Dr. Goldenberg admitted that he had been abusing codeine cough syrup and sleeping pills while on call. Even so, he was allowed to continue to practice until September 2008, when he was again seen to be impaired at work.

The next month, in October 2008, it was found that Dr. Goldenberg had used cocaine. He admitted to using the drug recreationally.

It took three years, until 2011, before the Medical Board filed an accusation against Dr. Goldenberg. He finally surrendered his medical license in 2013, six years after he was first found to be impaired at work.

Source: http://www2.mbc.ca.gov/BreezePDL/default.aspx?licenseType=G&licenseNumber=42112

Proposition 46, the Troy and Alana Pack Patient Safety Act, will enact the first law in the nation to require random drug and alcohol tests of physicians in hospitals, modeled after the Federal Aviation Administration testing program that has successfully reduced substance abuse by pilots. Doctors found to be impaired on the job will have their license suspended. If Prop 46 had been in effect, Goldenberg's substance abuse may have been detected, possibly preventing threats to patient safety in the process.

Hall of Shame: Insurance Companies Backing No on 46

Cooperative of American Physicians   $10,161,489.04
The Doctors Company   $10,000,000.00
NorCal Mutual Insurance Company   $10,000,000.00
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan   $5,000,000.00
Medical Insurance Exchange of California   $5,000,000.00
The Dentists Insurance Company   $1,620,000.00
The Mutual Risk Retention Group   $1,000,000.00
All Insurers:    $42,781,489.04
Total:    $58,068,255.82

Insurance companies have spent nearly $43 million dollars to oppose Prop 46 in order to shield dangerous doctors like Dr. Goldenberg from punishment, at the expense of patient safety, in order to protect their already substantial profits. In total, the opposition to Prop 46 has over $58 million dollars in their warchest, outspending consumer and patient safety advocates who support Prop 46 nearly 8:1.

Learn more about Proposition 46 and the campaign for patient safety at: www.yeson46.org

Paid for by Yes on Prop. 46, Your Neighbors for Patient Safety, a Coalition of Consumer Attorneys and Patient Safety Advocates - major funding by Consumer Attorneys of California Issues and Initiative Defense Political Action Committees and Kabateck, Brown, Kellner, LLP.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/doctors-that-harm-the-real-stories-insurance-companies-against-prop-46-dont-want-you-to-know-part-7-of-consumer-watchdog-campaign-series-333379318.html

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog Campaign