(p. A16) BOSTON — On its face, it seemed reasonable enough: a bone marrow registry sending recruiters to malls, ballparks and other busy sites to enlist potential donors.
But the recruiters were actually flirtatious models in heels, short skirts and lab coats, law enforcement officials say, asking passers-by for DNA swabs without mentioning the price of the seemingly simple procedure. And the registry, Caitlin Raymond International, was paying up to $60,000 a week for the models while billing insurance companies up to $4,300 per test.
. . .
The registry is a nonprofit subsidiary of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, . . .
. . .
James T. Boffetti, the state’s senior assistant attorney general, said the registry had hired models based on their photographs and had given them “explicit instructions” to wear heels and short skirts.
. . .
New Hampshire passed a law in 2006 requiring insurers to pay for tissue-typing tests for potential bone marrow donors.
For the full story, see:
ABBY GOODNOUGH. “Flirty Models Were Hired in Bid to Find Bone Marrow.” The New York Times (Fri., December 17, 2010): A16.
(Note: ellipses added.)
(Note: the online version of the article is dated December 16, 2010.)