Latest news with #AmeriHealthCaritas
Washington Post
03-04-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
John Oliver sued by physician over rant on Medicaid and feces
John Oliver was sued for defamation Wednesday by a physician who claims the HBO host made false statements about him this past year on 'Last Week Tonight,' when Oliver went on a rant about the privatization of Medicaid and its scatological effects. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, says that Oliver distorted comments made at a 2017 administrative hearing in Iowa by Brian Morley, a former medical director at the managed care organization AmeriHealth Caritas. During his testimony, Morley spoke about what kind of in-home care was appropriate for patients who soiled themselves.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
John Oliver sued by healthcare boss he rebuked on air over 'bowel movement' comments
A former health insurance boss has taken legal action against "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver, filing a defamation lawsuit against the Emmy winner. Dr. Brian Morley, a hospital administrator and former medical director for AmeriHealth Caritas in Iowa, filed his lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Morley's complaint stems from a Medicaid-themed episode of "Last Week Tonight" that aired in April 2024. The lawsuit, reviewed by The Times, alleges Oliver and "Last Week Tonight" producer Partially Important Productions linked Morley to a drastic decrease in Medicaid services and accused him of thinking "it's ok if people have s— on them for days." An attorney for Morley did not comment to The Times on Wednesday and a representative for Oliver did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more: After party rift on shutdown, California Democrats try to refocus budget fight on Medicaid The episode central to Morley's lawsuit aired April 14, 2024, and saw Oliver explore the state of Medicaid, examining healthcare companies' cost-cutting measures and their toll on patients across various states. During the segment, which aired on HBO and is available on YouTube, Oliver explained the role of managed care organizations (MCOs) in the healthcare system and shared a news outlet's video about dwindling patient care. The 2018 news snippet featured a cerebral palsy patient in Iowa named Louis whose care was negatively impacted by MCO involvement. Oliver followed that part of the segment with an audio snippet of Morley's comments about patient care from a 2017 administrative hearing. In the clip, Morley can be heard saying: "People have bowel movements every day where they don't completely clean themselves and we don't fuss over [them] too much. People are allowed to be dirty. You know, I would allow him to be a little dirty for a couple of days." The quote garnered a strong reaction from the "Last Week Tonight" studio audience and led Oliver to say he thought Morley's comments were taken out of context. He explained that he first thought "there is no way a doctor, a licensed physician, would testify in a hearing that he thinks it's OK if people have s— on them for days." Oliver continued his segment stating his team obtained the full hearing and that Morley "said it." Read more: Lawyers for security consultant say CNN report on Afghan evacuations destroyed his career "He meant it and it made me want to punch a hole in the wall," Oliver said. The segment returned to the 2018 video of Louis and his mother, both responding negatively to Morley's comments. The "Last Week Tonight" host had some choice words for Morley — which were cited in Friday's lawsuit. In his complaint, Morley says, "Defendants' false accusations were designed to spark outrage, and they did. "The false accusations Defendants made were so heinous that John Oliver felt justified in telling his millions of viewers: 'F— that doctor with a rusty canoe. I hope he gets tetanus of the balls,'" the complaint said. "Oliver's feigned outrage at Dr. Morley was fabricated for ratings and profits at the expense of Dr. Morley's reputation and personal well-being." Morley accused Oliver and "Last Week Tonight" of making him the "face" of the dramatic decrease in Medicaid care and increased cost-cutting. The lawsuit also raised concerns about how "Last Week Tonight" allegedly misrepresented Morley's 2017 comments and "knew and disregarded" various details of the hearing in the April episode. The lawsuit alleges that the "Last Week Tonight" team "conveyed the false and defamatory meanings" that Morley denied care to "Louis and/or the alleged 'similar' individual subject" of his testimony and that he allegedly said it was acceptable for patients who wear diapers or who cannot bathe themselves to "be left sitting in their own bowel movements for days." Read more: Chabria: The family-values hypocrisy of cutting Medicaid The complaint says that the "Last Week Tonight" team obtained and reviewed "an unabridged audio recording" of the 2017 hearing and that one of the show's senior news producers allegedly confirmed to Morley that they had reviewed the hearing. According to the lawsuit, Morley made his "bowel movement" comments in regard to a "hypothetical average person, who is independently mobile and can toilet transfer" but who might not have been able to clean themselves entirely after a bowel movement. "Last Week Tonight" allegedly did not disclose that detail, according to the lawsuit. He accused the show's producers of "negligence, knowledge of falsity, and/or a reckless disregard for the truth." Morely also alleges that a "Last Week Tonight" news producer "refused" to meet when he offered to explain his comments. The defendants also allegedly refused Morley's October 2024 request that they "retract their false and defamatory statements." Morley seeks an unspecified amount in damages including legal fees and additional relief. He also requests that judges order "Last Week Tonight" to remove the "false and defamatory statements from all platforms" and keep them from republishing. He is seeking a trial. Sign up for Screen Gab, a free newsletter about the TV and movies everyone's talking about from the L.A. Times. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
02-04-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
John Oliver sued by healthcare boss he rebuked on air over ‘bowel movement' comments
A former health insurance boss has taken legal action against 'Last Week Tonight' host John Oliver, filing a defamation lawsuit against the Emmy winner. Dr. Brian Morley, a hospital administrator and former medical director for AmeriHealth Caritas in Iowa, filed his lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Morley's complaint stems from a Medicaid-themed episode of 'Last Week Tonight' that aired in April 2024. The lawsuit, reviewed by The Times, alleges Oliver and 'Last Week Tonight' producer Partially Important Productions linked Morley to a drastic decrease in Medicaid services and accused him of thinking 'it's ok if people have s— on them for days.' An attorney for Morley did not comment to The Times on Wednesday and a representative for Oliver did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The episode central to Morley's lawsuit aired April 14, 2024, and saw Oliver explore the state of Medicaid, examining healthcare companies' cost-cutting measures and their toll on patients across various states. During the segment, which aired on HBO and is available on YouTube, Oliver explained the role of managed care organizations (MCOs) in the healthcare system and shared a news outlet's video about dwindling patient care. The 2018 news snippet featured a cerebral palsy patient in Iowa named Louis whose care was negatively impacted by MCO involvement. Oliver followed that part of the segment with an audio snippet of Morley's comments about patient care from a 2017 administrative hearing. In the clip, Morley can be heard saying: 'People have bowel movements every day where they don't completely clean themselves and we don't fuss over [them] too much. People are allowed to be dirty. You know, I would allow him to be a little dirty for a couple of days.' The quote garnered a strong reaction from the 'Last Week Tonight' studio audience and led Oliver to say he thought Morley's comments were taken out of context. He explained that he first thought 'there is no way a doctor, a licensed physician, would testify in a hearing that he thinks it's OK if people have s— on them for days.' Oliver continued his segment stating his team obtained the full hearing and that Morley 'said it.' 'He meant it and it made me want to punch a hole in the wall,' Oliver said. The segment returned to the 2018 video of Louis and his mother, both responding negatively to Morley's comments. The 'Last Week Tonight' host had some choice words for Morley — which were cited in Friday's lawsuit. In his complaint, Morley says, 'Defendants' false accusations were designed to spark outrage, and they did. 'The false accusations Defendants made were so heinous that John Oliver felt justified in telling his millions of viewers: 'F— that doctor with a rusty canoe. I hope he gets tetanus of the balls,'' the complaint said. 'Oliver's feigned outrage at Dr. Morley was fabricated for ratings and profits at the expense of Dr. Morley's reputation and personal well-being.' Morley accused Oliver and 'Last Week Tonight' of making him the 'face' of the dramatic decrease in Medicaid care and increased cost-cutting. The lawsuit also raised concerns about how 'Last Week Tonight' allegedly misrepresented Morley's 2017 comments and 'knew and disregarded' various details of the hearing in the April episode. The lawsuit alleges that the 'Last Week Tonight' team 'conveyed the false and defamatory meanings' that Morley denied care to 'Louis and/or the alleged 'similar' individual subject' of his testimony and that he allegedly said it was acceptable for patients who wear diapers or who cannot bathe themselves to 'be left sitting in their own bowel movements for days.' The complaint says that the 'Last Week Tonight' team obtained and reviewed 'an unabridged audio recording' of the 2017 hearing and that one of the show's senior news producers allegedly confirmed to Morley that they had reviewed the hearing. According to the lawsuit, Morley made his 'bowel movement' comments in regard to a 'hypothetical average person, who is independently mobile and can toilet transfer' but who might not have been able to clean themselves entirely after a bowel movement. 'Last Week Tonight' allegedly did not disclose that detail, according to the lawsuit. He accused the show's producers of 'negligence, knowledge of falsity, and/or a reckless disregard for the truth.' Morely also alleges that a 'Last Week Tonight' news producer 'refused' to meet when he offered to explain his comments. The defendants also allegedly refused Morley's October 2024 request that they 'retract their false and defamatory statements.' Morley seeks an unspecified amount in damages including legal fees and additional relief. He also requests that judges order 'Last Week Tonight' to remove the 'false and defamatory statements from all platforms' and keep them from republishing. He is seeking a trial.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
HBO's John Oliver faces lawsuit from health insurance executive over Medicaid monologue
A health insurance executive filed a defamation lawsuit against HBO's John Oliver on Friday, claiming the liberal comic falsely told viewers he believed "it's OK if people have s--t on them for days" when discussing the healthcare needs of a young man who relies on diapers and in-home bathing services to maintain proper hygiene. Former AmeriHealth Caritas medical director Dr. Brian Morley believes an April 2024 segment on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" about Americans losing Medicaid health care coverage destroyed his reputation and personal well-being. Oliver spent the entire episode sounding the alarm about "Medicaid unwinding" with a lengthy monologue that suggested Managed Care Organizations such as AmeriHealth Caritas have worked to take away healthcare. When examining the situation of a young patient who lost access to in-home bathing and diaper changing, Oliver played an edited audio excerpt from a 2017 testimony in which Morley said about a "similar patient", "People have bowel movements every day where they don't completely clean themselves, and we don't fuss over [them] too much. People are allowed to be dirty. I would allow him to be dirty for a couple of days." Oliver then said, "F--k that doctor with a rust canoe, I hope he gets tetanus of the balls," and told the HBO audience the testimony was authentic. Liberal British Hbo Host Tells Colbert He's Staying In America And 'Going Down With The Titanic' "When I first heard that, I thought that had to have been taken out of context. There is no way a doctor, a licensed physician, would testify in a hearing that he thinks it's OK if people have s--t on them for days. So, we got the full hearing, and I'm not going to play it, I'm just going to tell you, he said it, he meant it, and it made me want to punch a hole in the wall," Oliver told viewers. Read On The Fox News App In a lawsuit filed Friday in New York's Southern District that also named Partially Important Productions as a defendant, Morley alleged that Oliver "falsely" told viewers he "testified in a Medicaid hearing that 'he thinks it's okay if people have s--t on them for days,'" and "illegally denied Medicaid services to—a young man who has severe mental impairment, was harnessed in a wheelchair, wears diapers, and required in-home bathing and diaper changing because he could do neither himself." Morley's lawyer wrote in the filing that Oliver's "false accusations were designed to spark outrage, and they did." "Oliver's feigned outrage at Dr. Morley was fabricated for ratings and profits at the expense of Dr. Morley's reputation and personal well-being," the lawsuit said. Liberal Comedian Hopes His Show Speaks To Trump Voters Despite Fierce Opposition To The President "Defendants expressly asserted that they were not taking Dr. Morley's testimony out of context, knowing they had intentionally manipulated the context and their broadcast to convey a defamatory meaning that they knew was untrue," the suit continued, noting that if Oliver truly wanted the full hearing he would have known he was not speaking about an immobile or bedridden person, and that "Morley's testimony stood for the opposite of the defamatory meanings they ascribed to it." "Morley did not equate wiping poorly with leaving anyone sitting in their own feces for days—whether disabled, incontinent, wearing diapers or not. He testified to the opposite. He testified that people who, for instance, are immobile, laying in their own bowel movements, cannot toilet transfer, or cannot bathe themselves—in other words, people like the individual Defendants depicted—require significant in-home care, including 'to have someone wiping them and getting the feces off' to ensure 'medical safety,'" the lawsuit stated. The lawsuit alleges that Oliver also knew the patient Morley was actually talking about "was not confined to a wheelchair, was not incontinent, did not wear diapers, independently toilet transferred, was independently mobile, could change his or her own clothes, bathed him or herself, and did not require in-home diaper changing or assistance to bathe generally," but failed to disclose that to the HBO audience. John Oliver Offers Justice Thomas Millions To 'Get The F--- Off The Supreme Court' Oliver also failed to disclose that Morley approved six in-home visits per week to the actual patient, according to the lawsuit, which claims "Last Week Tonight" took the testimony out of context. Morley believes Oliver's accusations are false and were made negligently with actual malice. He has demanded that HBO retract the "false and defamatory" statements and is seeking "reputational, emotional, and mental damages in an amount exceeding $75,000 and to be determined at trial." Morley is also seeking punitive damages. HBO and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News article source: HBO's John Oliver faces lawsuit from health insurance executive over Medicaid monologue
Fox News
01-04-2025
- Health
- Fox News
HBO's John Oliver faces lawsuit from health insurance executive over Medicaid monologue
A health insurance executive filed a defamation lawsuit against HBO's John Oliver on Friday, claiming the liberal comic falsely told viewers he believed "it's OK if people have s--t on them for days" when discussing the healthcare needs of a young man who relies on diapers and in-home bathing services to maintain proper hygiene. Former AmeriHealth Caritas medical director Dr. Brian Morley believes an April 2024 segment on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" about Americans losing Medicaid health care coverage destroyed his reputation and personal well-being. Oliver spent the entire episode sounding the alarm about "Medicaid unwinding" with a lengthy monologue that suggested Managed Care Organizations such as AmeriHealth Caritas have worked to take away healthcare. When examining the situation of a young patient who lost access to in-home bathing and diaper changing, Oliver played an edited audio excerpt from a 2017 testimony in which Morley said about a "similar patient", "People have bowel movements every day where they don't completely clean themselves, and we don't fuss over [them] too much. People are allowed to be dirty. I would allow him to be dirty for a couple of days." Oliver then said, "F--k that doctor with a rust canoe, I hope he gets tetanus of the balls," and told the HBO audience the testimony was authentic. "When I first heard that, I thought that had to have been taken out of context. There is no way a doctor, a licensed physician, would testify in a hearing that he thinks it's OK if people have s--t on them for days. So, we got the full hearing, and I'm not going to play it, I'm just going to tell you, he said it, he meant it, and it made me want to punch a hole in the wall," Oliver told viewers. In a lawsuit filed Friday in New York's Southern District that also named Partially Important Productions as a defendant, Morley alleged that Oliver "falsely" told viewers he "testified in a Medicaid hearing that 'he thinks it's okay if people have s--t on them for days,'" and "illegally denied Medicaid services to—a young man who has severe mental impairment, was harnessed in a wheelchair, wears diapers, and required in-home bathing and diaper changing because he could do neither himself." Morley's lawyer wrote in the filing that Oliver's "false accusations were designed to spark outrage, and they did." "Oliver's feigned outrage at Dr. Morley was fabricated for ratings and profits at the expense of Dr. Morley's reputation and personal well-being," the lawsuit said. "Defendants expressly asserted that they were not taking Dr. Morley's testimony out of context, knowing they had intentionally manipulated the context and their broadcast to convey a defamatory meaning that they knew was untrue," the suit continued, noting that if Oliver truly wanted the full hearing he would have known he was not speaking about an immobile or bedridden person, and that "Morley's testimony stood for the opposite of the defamatory meanings they ascribed to it." "Morley did not equate wiping poorly with leaving anyone sitting in their own feces for days—whether disabled, incontinent, wearing diapers or not. He testified to the opposite. He testified that people who, for instance, are immobile, laying in their own bowel movements, cannot toilet transfer, or cannot bathe themselves—in other words, people like the individual Defendants depicted—require significant in-home care, including 'to have someone wiping them and getting the feces off' to ensure 'medical safety,'" the lawsuit stated. The lawsuit alleges that Oliver also knew the patient Morley was actually talking about "was not confined to a wheelchair, was not incontinent, did not wear diapers, independently toilet transferred, was independently mobile, could change his or her own clothes, bathed him or herself, and did not require in-home diaper changing or assistance to bathe generally," but failed to disclose that to the HBO audience. Oliver also failed to disclose that Morley approved six in-home visits per week to the actual patient, according to the lawsuit, which claims "Last Week Tonight" took the testimony out of context. Morley believes Oliver's accusations are false and were made negligently with actual malice. He has demanded that HBO retract the "false and defamatory" statements and is seeking "reputational, emotional, and mental damages in an amount exceeding $75,000 and to be determined at trial." Morley is also seeking punitive damages. HBO and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
