I agree that a physicians assistant is not a “phony doc,” but they are also not trained to be surgeons. PAs are very comparable to nurse practitioners – they are qualified to examine patients and diagnose illnesses but neither perform surgery.
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I don’t know. But the way you are talking can get you hurt. 
They are qualified to examine patients, diagnose some illnesses and prescribe within a limited formulary. Depending on the jurisdiction, they may be allowed to perform minor surgery. All of this is supposed to be done under the supervision of a licensed physician. The regulations on scope of practice vary a lot from state to state.
I would not characterize PAs as comparable to NPs. PAs attend a graduate program at the master’s level with no residency requirements. The education requirements for NPs are greater and increasing. Many jurisdictions now require NPs to earn a DNP degree (Doctor of Nursing Practice): another 2-3 semesters of coursework beyond the MSN and 12-18 months of the equivalent of residency.
it really is infuriating to read these stories… and they seem to be endless and always are in the tens of millions at minimum ripped off. esp considering that republicans always use waste and fraud as one of the reasons to end these programs, and then you read accounts like this. every time one of these assholes is found guilty, every friggin asset in their possession (and anything that’s been transferred in the past five years) needs to be seized. tough shit if they are left homeless and unemployed.
one could always be elected governor of florida…
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So what they’re saying here is the the privately-run insurance business is riddled with fraud and clearly should be shut down? (You know that’s always the story line when an unscrupulous doctor defrauds medicare or medicaid.)