Lawmakers Press GAO to Review ‘Unnecessary Surgeries’ Performed on Migrants

A trio of lawmakers are calling on the Government Accountability Office to launch an investigation into the medical care provided to migrants in detention centers, dismissing a previous report that they say did not thoroughly analyze “unnecessary surgeries.”

The question, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, comes after a series of reports detailing inadequate medical care in some cases, while in other cases invasive surgeries like hysterectomies were performed in migrants who were in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

A previous review by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) examined case files of six hysterectomies performed on women in ICE custody, finding that two “did not include documentation to support the conclusion that a hysterectomy was medically necessary.” ”. It is unclear how many total hysterectomies were performed in the two-year period analyzed by the OIG.

“Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General issued a report titled ‘ICE’s Major Surgeries Were Not Always Properly Reviewed and Approved for Medical Necessity.’ Despite the report’s title, the Office of Inspector General’s nearly four-year review was unable to conclusively determine whether detainees are being subjected to medically unnecessary surgeries, including hysterectomies and other procedures that may have minimally invasive alternatives.

The study also did not evaluate whether patients received informed consent before surgery or differentiate between emergency and non-emergency surgeries,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, which was also signed by Rep. Robert García (D-Calif.) and Rep. Alexandria. Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.).

“In light of these concerns, we request that GAO conduct a more complete and rigorous review.”

GAO has acknowledged receipt of the letter and will formally review the request.

Concern about unnecessary hysterectomies arose after a nurse working at an ICE facility in Georgia reported a doctor who allegedly removed women’s uteruses without their consent.

A previous review in a joint effort by the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees found that the doctor may have performed unnecessary and invasive procedures on patients to inflate government payments.

“My concern is that he was not competent and simply performed the same evaluation and treatment on most patients because that was what he knew how to do, and/or performed tests and treatments that generated a significant amount of reimbursement without benefiting the majority of patients, ” wrote Tony Ogburn, a doctor asked to review the files of ICE contractor Mahendra Amin.

At the heart of lawmakers’ call for the investigation is obtaining informed consent from detainees, as well as ensuring that they “are capable of making competent and voluntary decisions about whether to undergo major surgery.”

“Do ICE and [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] Do they have adequate safeguards to ensure that detainees undergo medically necessary surgeries and that less invasive alternatives are offered when appropriate?” lawmakers ask.

The request also asks GAO to review access to translators or medical professionals who speak the migrants’ language.

Lawmakers are calling on GAO to similarly investigate barriers that prevent migrants from receiving needed care, noting several recent incidents in which detainees were not referred for medical care.

“People detained by ICE have reported incidents of inadequate or inappropriate medical care while in ICE custody and difficulties in obtaining authorization and referral for appropriate medical care, especially in urgent situations,” they noted.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story