National Medical Enterprises

ORIGINALLY A PRIVATE California-based healthcare chain, National Medical Enterprises (NME) expanded quickly during the early 1980s and operated psychiatric hospitals throughout [Page 558]many areas of the United States, but primarily in Texas. As a for-profit private company traded publicly on the stock market, NME was driven to succeed financially. During times when insurance companies and employers across the United States increasingly funded psychiatric, alcohol, and drug treatment services, the opportunities for NME to profit were many.

By the end of the 1980s, however, some alarming accusations and reports were circulating about NME. In 1985, NME was accused of bribing political officials. By 1991, rumors attributed NME's massive profits to unethical conduct, exploitation, and lies. During a televised special the same year, one of NME's senior executives, ...