Satori World Medical, which refers to a fourth-floor Mission Valley office as its “world headquarters,” has lost its contract with the city of Hartford, Connecticut, to provide “medical tourism” services to city employees.
Under such an agreement, Satori provides airfare to Puerto Rico, ground transport, luxury hotel accommodations, and a $250 debit card to clients willing to seek one of about 70 approved operations outside the United States. After their hospital stay, the patient and a guest get to recuperate for up to ten days at the Caribe Hilton or Four Points Sheraton before flying back stateside. Even after considering all the extras, Satori promises that such trips generate “tremendous cost savings,” as compared to treatment in the U.S.
Regardless, the city balked when Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie exposed that Satori president and CEO Steven Nash had been “sentenced to 51 months in federal prison in 2004 and ordered to pay $36 million in restitution for his role in a $60 million fraud prosecution involving a physician network management company.” This information doesn’t show up in his bio, and apparently isn’t disclosed to prospective customers of his new company.
Satori continues to solicit health plans, self-funded employers, unions, and others to invest in the service, which lists operations in Canada, Costa Rica, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Turkey in addition to Puerto Rico and San Diego.
Stock photo
Satori World Medical, which refers to a fourth-floor Mission Valley office as its “world headquarters,” has lost its contract with the city of Hartford, Connecticut, to provide “medical tourism” services to city employees.
Under such an agreement, Satori provides airfare to Puerto Rico, ground transport, luxury hotel accommodations, and a $250 debit card to clients willing to seek one of about 70 approved operations outside the United States. After their hospital stay, the patient and a guest get to recuperate for up to ten days at the Caribe Hilton or Four Points Sheraton before flying back stateside. Even after considering all the extras, Satori promises that such trips generate “tremendous cost savings,” as compared to treatment in the U.S.
Regardless, the city balked when Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie exposed that Satori president and CEO Steven Nash had been “sentenced to 51 months in federal prison in 2004 and ordered to pay $36 million in restitution for his role in a $60 million fraud prosecution involving a physician network management company.” This information doesn’t show up in his bio, and apparently isn’t disclosed to prospective customers of his new company.
Satori continues to solicit health plans, self-funded employers, unions, and others to invest in the service, which lists operations in Canada, Costa Rica, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Turkey in addition to Puerto Rico and San Diego.
Stock photo