Chicagoan John Kanakes has been living with HIV since 1983. Last winter, when Kanakes was suffering from painful hemorrhoids, he went to see Dr. A. Paul Knott, Jr. at the Hemorrhoid Relief Center of Chicago in Arlington Heights.
According to a complaint Kanakes filed with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights May 27, Dr. Knott came up with several ‘ever-changing’ reasons why the Center could not treat him.
Despite the pain, despite being upset, Kanakes was going to let the matter slide, until he received a statement showing the doctor billed Medicare more than $600 for the office visit, even though no treatment was given, the complaint filed by the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago alleges.