How one Texas couple is getting rich off out-of-network medical bills

Alla and Scott LaRoque live lavishly, thanks to a business spawned by a federal law designed to protect patients. ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

March 18, 2026 Check out STAT+

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Molly Ferguson for STAT STAT+ | How a Texas couple is getting rich off out-of-network medical bills HaloMD says it gets medical providers what they deserve. Insurers claim fraud. STAT investigates how Scott and Alla LaRoque cashed in. By Tara Bannow STAT+ | FDA and NIH announce more initiatives to reduce animal testing in drug development FDA released guidance to help drug companies assess their products without animals. NIH will offer grants to find alternatives. By Lizzy Lawrence As Trump administration cracks down on health care fraud, people with disabilities feel singled out Disability advocates feel singled out by the Trump administration's fraud crackdown, warning that cuts to Medicaid and HCBS services risk lives and independence. By O. Rose Broderick APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images Opinion: Exposed and invisible in an ER hallway bed Emergency department hallway beds have transformed the patient examination into a moral dilemma, leaving people exposed physically and emotionally. By Jay Baruch Premature menopause is linked to 40% increase in heart disease risk JAMA Cardiology study says premature menopause, three times more common in Black women, is a risk factor for heart disease — but scientists aren't sure why. By Elizabeth Cooney More than 150,000 uncounted Covid-19 deaths occurred early in the pandemic, a study finds The Covid-19 pandemic's early death toll was much higher than the official U.S. count, according to a new study. By Associated Press David Goldman/AP Opinion: I was a surgeon. The hardest part of leaving medicine was believing that I could Frances Mei Hardin, author of "Surgeon on the Edge," on realizing how many options there are for physicians leaving medicine. By Frances Mei Hardin STAT+ | J&J wins approval for first-of-its-kind psoriasis pill The FDA approval of Icotyde, a daily treatment, could roil a multibillion-dollar market, including AbbVie's Skyrizi and J&J's own Tremfya. By Damian Garde

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