It's the early '90s, and Florida's Medicaid program is growing fast. Webb Espy, the well-loved and spirited leader of Florida's Medicaid Regulatory Office, has inadvertently discovered that large amounts of money are being siphoned from the state's Medicaid coffers. Those responsible are doing so for reasons far more complicated and nefarious than greed. The resulting investigation leads him and his unconventional staff into the path of a mysterious and dangerous adversary, determined to keep them off his employers' trail at any cost. Drawing on his personal resources and connections, Espy enters into a chess match of wits and wills, leading to several unanticipated consequences for himself, his team, and the world. Reflecting on the Florida Medicaid program's uncontrolled expansion and the unknown extent of Medicaid fraud and abuse in America's history, this story could be all too true.
About the Author
John M. Whiddon is as an avid reader and writer with a background in the healthcare industry. He ran the state Medicaid Program Integrity Office for more than a decade and opened a private healthcare regulatory consulting business in 1995. Whiddon received his bachelor's degree from McMurry College, his master's in social work administration from Florida State University, where he taught for five years, and his doctorate (ABD) from Nova University. He is involved in numerous civic and conservation organizations. He has been married for fifty-three years and has two children and one three-year-old granddaughter. In his spare time, Whiddon enjoys wing shooting, mentoring children from single-parent families and writing children's short stories. He currently owns a wing shooting operation in Argentina and Uruguay.