Ever since I have been practicing medicine over 22 years- the physician best know for treating environmental illness has been William Rea, MD of Dallas Texas. I recently read a letter he wrote in which he claims his medical license is at stake. Specifically, he says, Since October of 2005, the Texas Medical Board ahs been investigating me on charges of providing substandard care and endangering public health. An anonymous third-party complaint was made to the board against me, citing five specific patients as being mistreated. You may ask, What is an anonymous third-arty complaint? This type of complain is made to the board without the knowledge or consent of the patient. The complaint against me was almost certainly made by United Health Care/Oxford. None of the five patients cited in the complaint had knowledge that they or their information was being used in this way. Further, none of the patients are alleging mistreatment or malpractice against me, and all five are still under my care. Additionally, these patients all have written to the Texas Medical Board and informed them that they are not part of this complaint and they are not making any allegations against me of any kind. Two of the patients have state that I saved their lives. . The Texas Medical Board has dismissed the protest of these patients and continued to pursue charges against me. He goes on to explain the reason for this complaint against him. In recent years, the health insurance carriers have tried to automate their claims-processing processes. When claims are denied, they then have to be handled by a human, and this costs money. When physicians do not accept insurance assignment, the claims submitted by their patients often have a higher denial rate. This results in higher processing costs for the insurance companies. If these carriers can eliminate the independent physicians with higher denial rates, they can potentially save a lot of money. Certain state medical boards appear to agree with this strategy and cooperate in the process. It is important that we stop the state medical boards from unfairly targeting physicians who might practice outside the box to help their patients heal. Correspondence to the Texas Medical Board can be sent to PO Box 2018 Austin, TX 78768. Terry Pfau DO, HMD