by
Astrid Fiano, DOTmed News Writer | February 17, 2010
This report originally appeared in the January 2010 issue of DOTmed Business News.
The United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia have intervened in a qui tam/False Claims Act suit against Medicaid providers Universal Health Services Inc., Keystone Marion LLC, Keystone Education and Youth Services LLC. The defendants do business as the Keystone Marion Youth Center, a residential treatment facility in Marion, VA. The facility receives Medicaid funds to provide psychiatric counseling and treatment for boys ages 11 to 17 with serious mental illness and behavior problems.
The lawsuit was filed in the Western District of Virginia by several former therapists who worked at the Center. The suit alleges the defendants used various techniques to fraudulently increase the amount of Medicaid reimbursement, including billing for residents' services without supporting documentation; holding therapy sessions for 10 to 20 minutes but billing for 50-minute sessions; billing five-minute interactions as 30-minute therapy sessions; provoking residents so their reactions would justify longer stays; and falsifying records.
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"The Medicaid program was designed to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our society receive quality medical care. The intervention in this suit demonstrates our commitment in the Western District of Virginia to protecting the integrity of Medicaid funds and holding those who violate the law accountable," U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy stated in a Department of Justice press release.
