June 18, 2015
Connecticut commenced a case under that state’s False Claims Act against the co-owners of a psychiatric clinic alleged to have submitted false claims to the state’s Medicaid program, Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP), from January 2010 through December 2014. According to the complaint, the defendants illegally submitted false claims for reimbursement while knowingly retaining and concealing the overpayment. The psychiatrist is alleged to have engaged in a systemic practice of knowingly “upcoding” the claims for reimbursement she submitted to the CMAP. For example, as the complaint alleges, she routinely double, triple, and in some cases quadruple-booked appointments for her Medicaid patients, then submitted CMAP using a reimbursement code, which required her to see the patient for approximately 75 to 80 minutes when, in fact, she saw each patient for as little as 5-10 minutes. The state’s complaint identifies 113 days where the psychaitrist billed the CMAP for more than 24 hours of service. Both defendants are also alleged to have attempted to conceal from state auditors the existence of databases that contained information which would have established evidence that the claims were false.
CT