Business Ethics Homework

RESOLVING ETHICAL BUSINESS CHALLENGES- Dr. Robert Smith owned his family practice for over 20 years. He came from a family of success. His father was a brain surgeon and his mother a well-known author. His younger brother, Saul, owned his own accounting firm for several years, but came to work with Dr. Smith after he sold it for a modest amount.

After graduating at the top of his class from fohns Hopkins University, Dr. Smith was awarded a cardio_ th-oracic surgery fellowship in New york. He spent a few years there and was well on his way to fulfiiling his dream of becoming a heart ,rrrg"orr. During this time, however, his father became ill. Dr. Smith decided to return to his hometown of Zoar, Ohio, to take care of him. Under Dr. Smith's care, his father started show_ ing signs of improvement. He was glad not only for his father, but that he could go back and continue hi. pr._ suit of becoming a heart surgeon. On the day he was set to leave, his mother became ill and died a few days later from a rare form of cancer that showed no symptoms. The devastation hit the family hard. Saul was sti[ln col_ lege, and Dr. Smith's father needed someone to be with him at all times. Dr. Smith decided to stay in Zoar to take care of his father. He opened up a family practice in the town, thus putting his dream of becoming a heart surgeon on hold indefinitely.

, Over the years, Dr. Smith sometimes felt regret that he never achieved his dream, but his job as the town doctor has been fulfilling. Now Saul was working with him, helping with the business. This made things sig_ nificantly easier for Dr. Smith, who haphazaraty tept his own books and patient files. One day, as Suui o.ga_ nized Dr. Smith's piles of paperwork, he noticed there were charges to Medicaid that must be a mistake. V\4rile most of the population of Zoar, Ohio, was considered low-level income and qualified for Medicaid, this was not the case for all patients. There were several elderly ${a]e- and higher,income families who regularly vis_ ited the office and usuallypaid with a check oi cash. Saul assumed his brother's administrative office skills were poor and aimed to fix it. However, as Saul organized the

paperwork and checked files, these charges to Medicaid appeared to increase, dating back at least five years.

Saul approached his brother. ..Robert, are you aware you charged Medicaid for Mr. and Mrs. Bennett,s visits?,,

"Hmmm. Let me see the paperwork,,'Dr. Smith asked. Saul handed it to him. Dr. Smith glanced at the document and said, "yes, they are orr". ug. 65, so I made a bill for Medicaidl'

"But we have records they paid you with cash,,, Saul replied. He handed Dr. Smith an old receipt. .And there are similar instances with some of your other patients. Besides, Medicaid is for low-income patients, not the elderly. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are clearly not low-income."

Looking a little bit flustered, Dr. Smith replied, "Saul, you know how I am with details. I,m no good at it.

Jhats why I hired you. Thanks for catching my mistake.,,

Dr. Smith walked back into his office and shut the door, leaving Saul standing in the hallway with a stack of files.

Saul knew what his brother gave up for their family and the good he did for the families in this small town, but he was convinced these charges were not accidental. There were too many of them and the amount of money charged exceeded $75,000.

_ "What happened to all that money?,, Saul won_ dered. He also wondered how to handle the situation. He thought to himself, "How can I report this without send_ ing Robert to jail? If I dont report it and Medicaid finds out, I could go to jail and lose my accounting license. This is such a small town. If anybody finds iut, we'll never live it down." At that moment, the phone rang, and Saul was the only one there to answer it.

QUESTIONS I EXERCTSES 1. Describe Saul's ethical dilemma. 2. Why would Medicare fraud be a white_collar crime? 3. How should Saul approach the situation? .This

case is strictly hypothetical; any resemblance to real persons, companies, or situations is coincidental.