Medicaid agencies are having a difficult time imposing payment suspensions on providers against which there is credible allegation of fraud, according to a new government watchdog report. The report (PDF), from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of … Read More
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KWCH) A Douglas County woman ordered to repay more than $11,000 to the Kansas Medicaid Program after pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud-related charges. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says 44-year-old Marquita Diane Hutcherson pleaded guilty in July in … Read More
TRENTON – The wave of arrests in Lakewood in alleged welfare fraud schemes has prompted state officials to establish an amnesty program that will let Medicaid cheaters avoid prosecution if they come forward. But participants will be required to repay … Read More
Hurricane Harvey has left our Houston and Texas communities with significant recovery and restoration needs. As attorneys, we struggle with how we can be most helpful. It is in this spirit, that we have compiled this Special Alert to help … Read More
Santa Fe, New Mexico’s St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and its Irving, Texas-based partner Christus Health have agreed to pay $12.24 million plus interest to settle allegations that they made illegal donations to county governments under a discontinued state matching … Read More
An Illinois-based chain of dental clinics has agreed to pay nearly $1.36 million to resolve claims that it improperly billed Massachusetts’ Medicaid program for unnecessary and unjustified procedures. The settlement with Dental Dreams LLC, a privately held company that operates … Read More
HOUSTON – Texas officials are asking health insurance companies to be flexible in helping people affected by the floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey. Many of the thousands who fled their homes during the storm may no longer have access to prescription … Read More
A Mt. Vernon dentist is again facing allegations that he defrauded Medicaid, following charges filed by the office of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley last week. Dr. Thomas Alms is maintaining his innocence, and his attorney, Roger Jones, said that … Read More
When the Justice Department announced in July that the federal government would press charges against more than 400 health care providers, including 115 doctors, in the largest health care fraud bust in history, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called it … Read More
Few places need the federal government right now more than Texas does, as it begins to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Yet there are few states where the federal government is viewed with more resentment, suspicion and scorn. For Republicans, who … Read More
DentaQuest, the leading oral health company in the United States and the largest in the Medicaid space, wired one million dollars today to the Rebuild Texas Fund launched by The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. With this donation, DentaQuest joins … Read More
Health officials are temporarily making it easier for children in Texas to access safety-net insurance in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and its devastating flooding. CMS emergency provisions approved Sept. 1 will allow Texas officials to lift eligibility and cost-sharing … Read More
The owner of an Omaha mental health and substance abuse treatment company has been sent to prison and ordered to pay more than $100,000 for health care fraud. Chandra Wrightsell, who ran Evol Consulting LLC, pleaded guilty to one of … Read More
Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas may spur the state to pursue Medicaid expansion as a way to receive public funding in the storm’s aftermath, some observers say. Sarah Rosenbaum, a health policy professor at the George Washington University, told Bloomberg … Read More
The owner of multiple home health care companies and a doctor were sentenced for their roles in a nearly $60 million Medicare fraud scheme, the Department of Justice announced on August 18. Myrna S. Parcon, 62, of Dallas and Ransome … Read More
HHS issued a limited waiver of HIPAA sanctions and penalties during Hurricane Harvey, which HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, declared a public health emergency in Texas Aug. 26 and Louisiana Aug. 28. The HIPAA Privacy Rule cannot be suspended during … Read More
A Roxbury pharmacy has agreed to pay $309,000 over its failure to disclose a managing employee’s suspension from the New York State Medicaid program due to a criminal conviction, authorities said. Valley Pharmacy, in the Succasunna section of the township, … Read More
Antoine Skaff, 58, entered his guilty plea to health care fraud. Skaff also entered into a civil settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the West Virginia … Read More
Fraud is becoming a bigger threat to your retirement security — even if you think you’re too sharp to fall for a scam. One 2015 report estimated that older Americans lose $36.5 billion each year to financial scams and abuse. … Read More
The Mississippi Division of Medicaid recovered more than $8.6 million through audits of its medical claims in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to a news release from the division Monday. “Recouping funds can result from a range … Read More
WASHINGTON — More than 1 in 4 cases of possible sexual and physical abuse against nursing home patients apparently went unreported to police, says a government audit that faults Medicare for failing to enforce a federal law requiring immediate notification. … Read More
The owner of a small chain of home health care agencies near Houston has been sentenced to decades behind bars for bilking Medicaid and Medicare out of millions of dollars. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake of the Southern District of … Read More
State and county authorities descended on a Laredo adult day care Wednesday morning as the patrons calmly played loteria inside the main hall. The Texas Attorney General’s Office and Webb County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office executed a search warrant at … Read More
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley Wednesday filed criminal charges against a Mount Vernon dentist for defrauding Medicaid. The complaint charges Dr. Thomas Alms of Mount Vernon committed three felony counts of Medicaid fraud, and one felony … Read More
A Charleston dentist on Monday pleaded guilty to federal charges that he falsely billed Medicaid for more than $700,000 in dental procedures he did not actually perform on his patients. Antoine Skaff, 58, pleaded guilty to health care fraud before … Read More
Conway, S.C. (WPDE) — A Conway dentist has been arrested for violating drug distribution laws and obtaining drugs for his own personal use. According to an arrest warrant, police say between May 9, 2016, and July 11, 2017, Richard H. … Read More
The owners of several Texas home health agencies pleaded guilty to a $60 million Medicare fraud plot and were sentenced to stays in federal prison. Dallas-based Healthcare Liaison Professionals owner Myrna Parcon and former doctor and part-owner Ransome Etindi pleaded guilty to … Read More
WORCESTER, MA – From the Massachusetts Attorney General: Attorney General Maura Healey announced today that her office has reached a settlement with a pediatric dentist in Springfield, returning $500,000 to the state’s Medicaid program (MassHealth) and resolving claims that the … Read More
DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas woman must serve 10 years in federal prison and repay $51 million in a health care services fraud case involving home visits. Myrna S. Parcon was sentenced Thursday in Dallas. Parcon pleaded guilty to conspiracy … Read More
A small pharmacy in Utah and a doctor’s office in Tennessee have been implicated in an alleged kickback scheme that used San Diego County Marines to defraud the military’s health insurance provider out of at least $67 million, according to … Read More
Two men admitted defrauding New Jersey state health benefits programs and other insurers out of $25 million by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions. Matthew Tedesco, 42, a pharmaceutical sales representative from Linwood, N.J., and Robert Bessey, 43, of … Read More
Pharma companies are not doing well keeping their unscrupulous behavior quiet. Martin Shkreli’s high profile trial for increasing the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.5 to $750 per pill, and the complicated jury selection process, is making headlines. Now, … Read More
The owner of a string of Houston home health care clinics was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison Thursday for a brazen scheme involving more than $17 million in fraudulent Medicaid and Medicare billing. “I’m not here to pass … Read More
DALLAS – The U.S. government moved to seize the assets of Dallas attorney Tshombe Anderson after Anderson pled guilty Aug. 3 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in a case that also involves four of his family members. The … Read More
AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) – A Bushland man has pleaded guilty to committing health care fraud. Thomas Roy Clark, 52, pleaded guilty today to one count of health care fraud after participating in a scheme to defraud insurance companies through the submission … Read More
A registered nurse and home health company owner has been convicted of conspiracy and multiple counts of healthcare fraud in a $20 million dollar scheme to defraud Medicare, the Department of Justice announced. Evelyn Mokwuah of Pearland, Texas was convicted … Read More
DALLAS (AP) — Two Fort Worth brothers have pleaded guilty to playing a role in an alleged $36 million fraud scheme involving unnecessary lab tests of saliva and urine that were billed to the U.S. military’s health care system. The … Read More
HOUSTON – The operator of a Houston home health agency has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for a $13 million Medicare fraud scheme. A federal judge in Houston sentenced Marie Neba on Friday. The 53-year-old Sugar Land, Texas, … Read More
A Dallas physician has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $268 million in restitution for his role in a Medicare and Medicaid fraud conspiracy involving $357 million in billing for unnecessary home … Read More
A San Antonio pharmaceutical representative has been indicted in a health care fraud case alleging Tricare and private insurers were overbilled by $9.5 million. The 30-count indictment against Holly T. Blakely, 44, makes clear that she is not the only … Read More
