A state lawmaker charged with fraud involving medical treatments has been sued by a patient over the care she prescribed for him to relieve back pain.
Rep. Tricia Derges, a Nixa Republican, is scheduled to go on trial in federal court next month on charges that she sold fake stem cell treatments, fraudulently used pandemic aid and wrote illegal prescriptions.
n a lawsuit filed in state court this month, a patient alleges Derges, an assistant physician, used amniotic fluid injections to treat his back pain at her clinic in Springfield in 2020. He alleges he was charged over $6,000 for treatments that did not help, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
Derges’ attorney, Al Watkins, said the plaintiff had no problems with his treatment until the federal indictment was publicized, and called the allegations “absolutely erroneous.”
In a federal indictment filed last year, Derges is accused of claiming nearly $900,000 in federal payments for COVID-19 treatments that were not performed or had already been performed. It also alleged that she promoted amniotic fluid as a treatment for COVID-19 and other diseases by falsely claiming it contained stem cells.
In February, Derges’ narcotics license was placed on probation for three years.
(From KTLO/Associated Press)
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