Meredith's Insurance Fraud is the insurance fraud perpetrated by Meredith Grey to save the life of Gabby Rivera.
Timeline[]
Gabriella Rivera came into the clinic with her father, Luis, when she had abdominal pain. Luis was worried about the cost as he didn't have insurance, but the doctors told him he could apply for state insurance, which would kick in immediately. However, he was rejected for making too much money. Meredith, wanting to save him from financial ruin, put her daughter, Ellis's, name on the chart, so they could use Ellis's insurance to pay for Gabby's medical care. They soon learned that Gabby had cancer. Richard was horrified to learn what she'd done and said that there was another way. If they could keep her in the hospital for 30 consecutive days, she could get insurance. ("What I Did for Love")
Catherine and Bailey learned that there was an inconsistency with Gabby's insurance coverage and investigated it along with the company that insured their employees. Impulsively, Andrew confessed to putting Ellis's name down on Gabby's chart. He was quickly arrested. ("Drawn to the Blood")
Wanting to get Andrew out of jail, Meredith confessed to the insurance fraud, but Alex and Richard stepped in behind her and also confessed, trying to save her. Bailey then fired all three of them. ("Jump Into the Fog")
Meredith hired Nancy Klein to represent her in court. Nancy assured her she'd be deeply repentant and would get a few hours of community service and that would be that. She believed it was highly unlikely that the medical board would take action against Meredith. Meredith appeared before a judge, who asked her if she regretted what she did. She said only to the extent she could knowing that Gabby was doing better. The judge sentenced her to community service picking up trash on the side of the road. After she started that, she got a letter from the medical board, saying they would be investigating her. ("Nothing Left to Cling To")
While doing her community service, Meredith started examining the other workers and giving them medical advice. The supervisor, Robin Jones, told Meredith to get back to work and let the others get back to work, but Meredith pointed out a nodule she noticed in Robin's neck and offered to take a look at it. Robin was later diagnosed with cancer. ("Back in the Saddle")
Meredith had to return to court after she walked out on work crew. ("It's Raining Men")
Meredith missed her court date because Zola's shunt started to malfunction and she needed a shunt revision. At the end of the day, Nancy came to the hospital to tell Meredith that the judge decided she'd have to make up the missed work crew hours in jail. ("Breathe Again")
Meredith served her time in jail and was released on Halloween. However, she knew it wasn't over because she still had to defend her medical license. ("Whistlin' Past the Graveyard")
Meredith faced the medical board with Nancy representing her. Nancy made Meredith promise to remain quiet while Nancy defended her. Meredith was enraged to learn that one of the medical board representatives was Paul Castello, the doctor responsible for Derek's death. Nancy informed her that switching a doctor would mean rescheduling, which could take six months. Meredith decided to allow the hearing to continue. Several of the doctors testified, as well as former patients. During the trial, Meredith and the others learned that Levi is the one who revealed the insurance fraud to Bailey, noticing that Gabby's hospital bracelet said Ellis's name and not wanting to get in trouble for making another mistake. He told Meredith he was sorry. While Alex was testifying about Meredith and Zola's adoption, Paul asked if Meredith's cavalier actions almost cost her her daughter. Meredith snapped at that point and revealed to Paul who she was. Paul asked for a recess to evaluate the conflict of interest, while Nancy tried to pull Meredith back into her seat. Before the hearing could resume, Paul had a seizure and had to be taken to the hospital.
The judge said the hearing would be postponed because of what happened to Paul. Alex objected, saying that a bunch of people came from all over to speak for Meredith, leading an entire crowd of people into the room. Several former patients testified that Meredith saved their lives. Finally, Bailey took the stand a second time and spoke of how Meredith broke the law to save a life and was a more caring person than anyone else in the room. The judge cleared the room so the two remaining medical board representatives could make a decision. When Meredith was called back in, she learned that Paul's vote was irrelevant as the other two had voted to drop the matter. ("My Shot")
Characters Present[]
- Meredith Grey
- Alex Karev
- Richard Webber
- Andrew DeLuca
- Gabriella Rivera
- Luis Rivera
- Miranda Bailey
- Catherine Fox
- Nancy Klein
- Ashley Cordova
- Paul Castello
- Levi Schmitt
- Patricia Murphy
- Ray Sutera
- Shirley Gregory
- Robin Jones
- Katie Bryce
- William Benson
Notes and Trivia[]
- Cristina, Arizona, Callie, April, and Addison all wrote letters of support for Alex to read at the hearing.
- Alex also contacted Izzie to see if she could write one, though it's unknown if she did.
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