Year-round Health Means Winter Work

3 Arrested Following Drug Raids

By P. DOUGLAS FILAROSKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, January 21, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE- Doctors who failed to cough up student loan payments are
being barred from Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and could face tougher
medicine down the road, the federal government said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Federal officials Tuesday posted on the Internet the names of 1,402 doctors
and health care professionals who defaulted on loans and said it plans to
print them in the Federal Register, an information clearinghouse published
daily. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The list, which includes four area dentists, is an effort to get
professionals to pay back more than $107 million owed to the Health Education
Assistance Loans program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Every resource is being used to keep taxpayers from footing the bill for
hard-core defaulters," Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala
said in a statement. "They must pay up or lose out." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The delinquents, whose bills averaged $76,000, include physicians,
chiropractors, psychologists and administrators. The majority work in
Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas, the department
said in its announcement. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of the 67 defaulters in Pennsylvania, 26 are dentists, making it the
largest group of delinquents among the health professions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They include Elaine M. Hoppes-Goroshko of Tamaqua; James P. Burne of
Scranton; and Connie A. Tanski-Yudichak and John M. Yudichak, a husband and
wife who live in Larksville. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yudichak operates a dental practice on Main Street in Plymouth and owes the
most of the local group, with a debt of $139,625. His wife, Tanski-Yudichak,
defaulted on a $96,767 loan, the government said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Both Yudichaks attended Temple University in Philadelphia, and John
Yudichak is a member of the Larksville Zoning Hearing Board. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yudichak, who graduated in December 1987, did not return calls to his home
or office. A secretary who answered the office phone confirmed Yudichak
received a message, but she said he was unavailable to talk. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Reached at home, Tanski-Yudichak also declined to discuss the debt. She
said she left Temple in June 1989 without graduating, never practiced
dentistry, and is unaware of the government's action. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I don't want to say anything until I know what's going on," she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bell Atlantic yellow pages contain an ad for Hoppes-Goroshko's Tamaqua
practice, which says she does work on dentures. There is no listing for a
James P. Burne as a dentist in Scranton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hoppes-Goroshko could not be reached for comment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The government said original lenders and the Health Resources and Services
Administration have been trying to collect payments for the federally
guaranteed loans for at least three years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The federal agency, which is part of Health and Human Services, helped
finance more than 160,000 loans for students studying medicine. About 95
percent honor their obligations, said Claude Earl Fox, acting administrator of
the services administration. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Once a borrower defaults, the government guarantee means the federal
Student Loan Insurance Fund must repay private banks, credit unions and other
lenders. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Until they repay their debts, the defaulters will be barred from collecting
Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for the more than 74 million elderly,
disabled and low-income Americans covered by the government program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The state's 11th Congressional District, which includes Luzerne County, has
136,000 Medicare recipients. It is unclear how many people in the area qualify
for Medicaid. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Delinquents are routinely reported to credit bureaus and the Internal
Revenue Service, which can withhold tax refunds, Fox said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The names of defaulters also were sent to the Department of Justice, which
could prosecute, garnish wages and property, and seize bank accounts.

Area Dentists On U.s. List Of Defaulters 
As Part Of An Effort To Force Repayments, 
The Government Posted An Internet List Of 
Doctors Who Have Defaulted On Guaranteed 
Student Loans; Over $107 Million Is Owed

Area Dentists On U.s. List Of Defaulters As Part Of An Effort To Force Repayments, The Government Posted An Internet List Of Doctors Who Have Defaulted On Guaranteed Student Loans; Over $107 Million Is Owed