Several ambulance services from across Texas are working to stave off a potential 10 percent cut to their Medicaid reimbursements. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is planning to cut the amounts ambulance services can bill the government for … Read More
A 60-year-old Dallas-area doctor has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for helping defraud Medicare and Medicaid out of almost $375 million. A federal judge also ordered Dr. Jacques (ZHAWK) Roy on Wednesday to pay more than $268 million in restitution. … Read More
August 8, 2017 — The Texas attorney general has reached a $300,000 settlement agreement with Henry Schein over allegations of anticompetitive practices. A lawsuit alleged that Henry Schein violated state antitrust law by working with its competitors to prevent the … Read More
Texas, which has owned the distinction of having the largest uninsured population in the country, has earned another dubious honor. It’s now considered among the worst states in the country for health care. New analysis of the Best & Worst … Read More
August 7, 2017 — Technology company DentalXChange has partnered with Delta Dental of Colorado to launch a cobranded edition of the company’s DDS Enroll software. Dentists affiliated with Delta Dental will be able to complete credentialing requirements for multiple insurers … Read More
WASHINGTON – With the Republican-led Senate having failed to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, Democrats are pressing Gov. Greg Abbott to reconsider his decision not to expand Texas’ Medicaid program. In a statement following a letter to the governor … Read More
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A dentist in South Florida faces fraud charges for billing patients for work already covered under Medicaid. Dr. Fadi Yousef Qablawi, 39, targeted elderly patients with Medicaid by telling them their procedure would have to be paid … Read More
Dentists have a new challenge on their hands. According to a recent study, the majority of dental patients would not recommend doing business with their current dental provider. In an increasingly consumer-driven marketplace, this is problematic for both providers and … Read More
WASHINGTON – With the Republican-led Senate having failed to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, Democrats are pressing Gov. Greg Abbott to reconsider his decision not to expand Texas’ Medicaid program. In a statement following a letter to the governor … Read More
A dozen years ago, Texas health care administrators hired a company to help determine when taxpayers should cover the cost of dental care for the state’s poorer residents, particularly children. The company, later acquired by the giant corporation Xerox, deployed … Read More
For years, Iowa dentists have complained about the low rate of payment they receive from the Medicaid program. When treating a Medicaid patient, dentists can typically expect to collect just 30 percent of what they’d normally receive for providing the … Read More
A Florida state healthcare official allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for helping a nursing home owner accused of orchestrating a $1 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme keep his license, federal prosecutors said. Bertha Blanco, 66, faces federal criminal charges … Read More
Washington state will keep a small fraction of a $280 million national settlement involving a pharmaceutical company accused of committing fraud by promoting two drugs for unapproved cancer treatments. Source: Washington gets $368,000 under Medicaid fraud settlement / KHQ News
Investigators with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office said they will pore over Medicaid bills with an eye for suspicious activity in an attempt to find Medicaid fraud throughout the state. Source: AG cracking down on Medicaid fraud, elder abuse … Read More
A registered nurse in Texas must serve four years in federal prison for her role in what prosecutors call a health care scam involving nearly $375 million in false claims. Charity Eleda of Rowlett (row-LET’) in North Texas was sentenced … Read More
The Fortuna resident who allegedly fraudulently ran Eel River Valley Dental using forged documents appeared in court Monday and has been charged with four felony counts. According to Humboldt County court records, Mazair, also known as Michael, Eshghipour allegedly committed … Read More
A former Houston dentist was formally charged Monday with failing to properly treat a sedated 4-year-old patient who was left with permanent brain damage in what should have been a routine procedure. Bethaniel Jefferson, 40, who lost her license to … Read More
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – A man is behind bars in Virginia Beach, accused of doing illegal dental procedures in Virginia Beach. Prosecutors say 54-year-old Carlos Vargas has been on the run for the last two years. He was wanted … Read More
Molina Healthcare, a health insurer that specializes in the Obamacare and Medicaid healthcare programs for low-income and poor people, plans to cut about 1,400 jobs in the next few months, according to an internal company memo reviewed by Reuters. Molina’s … Read More
In an attempt to adapt to significant budget cuts, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is proposing to reduce reimbursements to doctors and others who treat patients on Medicaid by nearly 3.5 percent. Providers say that cut … Read More
Medicare is the federal health-insurance program for people 65 or older and certain people with disabilities. Beneficiaries love the program and depend on it, and so do a large and unknown number of criminals and scam artists. Earlier this month, … Read More
WASHINGTON – Now that Senate Republicans have failed in their attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare and cut Medicaid, House Republicans are pushing a budget that aims to do all that and then some. Their budget proposal partially privatizes Medicare … Read More
The Senate health care bill (the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017) would fundamentally reform federal Medicaid payment. As Washington Post columnist George Will has written, the bill’s Medicaid provisions, as crafted by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., “makes it this century’s … Read More
July 19, 2017 — The Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) has approved a new low-cost preferred provider organization (PPO) plan from Delta Dental of Massachusetts, despite concerns from the state’s dental society. In response, the Massachusetts Dental Society has petitioned for a … Read More
The body of a teenage girl found in a Texas park is the stepdaughter of a doctor recently charged in at least seven overdose deaths, police said. The medical examiner identified a body found floating in a creek at Blair … Read More
An Austin dentist whose 14-month-old patient died after being put under anesthesia in 2016 is suing multiple national media outlets and broadcast personalities, including Nancy Grace, over their reports of the case. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Travis County … Read More
July 17, 2017 — MCNA Dental has signed a contract with the Arkansas Department of Human Services to serve as a dental benefits manager for the state’s Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The contract takes effect in January 2018. MCNA … Read More
Texas policymakers are once again demonstrating their contempt for reproductive health care, the health care providers who offer those services, and the women who rely on them. The state has spent years crippling a once-successful program supporting family planning and … Read More
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The largest assisted-living facility for Medicaid recipients in Texas is voluntarily shuttering after years of budget deficits and as residential developers clamor for real estate in the nation’s seventh fastest-growing city, the owner confirmed Friday. … Read More
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, involving 412 charged defendants across 41 federal districts, … Read More
Two Austin psychologists and a Cedar Park patient recruiter are facing criminal charges after federal investigators accused them of a Medicaid kickback scheme involving children who had been removed from their homes by the Texas Department of Family and Protective … Read More
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS – U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions argued the country should renew its war on drugs after revealing that more people than ever are dying from both illegal and prescription drug abuse. “Based on preliminary data, nearly 60,000 Americans … Read More
Last December, when the state’s Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) implemented a staggering $350 million cut to Medicaid reimbursements for much needed physical, occupational and speech therapy, it had a devastating impact on our state’s most vulnerable populations. It … Read More
AUSTIN, Texas – Apollo and his brother, Oliver, were excited about their upcoming trip to the nation’s capital. While they savored the anticipation, their parents, Kate and Bob Howell, got ready to speak with lawmakers on behalf of Medicaid, a … Read More
A medical biller in the Detroit area was sentenced June 30 to 50 months in prison for her role in a $7.3 million healthcare fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District … Read More
A 42-year-old former Goliad woman has admitted to posing as a nurse, U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez said in a press release issued Thursday. Leticia Gallarzo pleaded guilty to five counts of making false statements relating to health care in federal … Read More
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ attorney general disclosed Wednesday that a Washington-based conservative group is helping pay his legal defense on criminal securities fraud charges, the first such national group to offer financial support. But Republican Ken Paxton would not divulge … Read More
Texas rejected billions in federal aid to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, calling the program “broken.” But now it’s asking the Trump administration to renew a deal that’s brought the state an additional $6.2 billion a year under … Read More
Texas nursing homes beware: The state’s tolerance for mistakes is dropping fast. In September, a new state law takes effect that will make it more difficult for long-term care facilities cited for repeat violations to avoid hefty fines from regulators. … Read More
More than four years after accusing Southwest Counseling Center of overbilling the state by $2.8 million in Medicaid reimbursements, the New Mexico Human Services Department has settled with the former Las Cruces behavioral health provider for a sliver of that … Read More
