Last week I traveled to Houston, Dallas, and Denver to meet with other health care attorneys of Gordon & Rees.  It was a great trip and I met some wonderful colleagues.  But I was happy to get home to my family, including our new addition of 9 peacock eggs.

Yes, 9 peacock eggs!!

Here is a pic:

(I know that there are 10 eggs in the picture, but we will not talk about the 10th.  Just know that we have high hopes that the other 9 are viable and survive!!  As of today, at 1:00 pm, all 9 eggs are chirping, but no cracks yet!!)

Oh, and, before I forget…Watch ABC news tonight.  I was interviewed for a story about one of my clients.

Anyway, while I was gone, I was unable to post a blog regarding the State Auditor’s most recent audit report regarding Eastpointe.  So here it is…

As the managed care organizations (MCOs) continue to accuse health care providers of fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA), it seems from a recent State Auditor report that, at least, one of the MCOs itself is guilty of the very accusation that they are alleging against providers.  See blog. And blog.

There is an old story:

A wolf, passing by, saw some shepherds in a hut eating for their dinner a haunch of mutton. Approaching them, he said: What a clamor you would raise, if I were to do as you are doing!

Moral:
Men are too apt to condemn in others the very things they practice themselves

The audit findings beg the questions…Is it only Eastpointe? Or all 9 MCOs? How much Medicaid money is lining the pockets of MCO executives, instead of paying for medically necessary services for Medicaid recipients?  Beth Wood  only audited Eastpointe. Is this only the tip of the iceberg?

According to our State Auditor, Eastpointe former executive has lined his pockets with $547,595+…

Here are the key findings from the NC State Auditor’s report regarding Eastpointe:

KEY FINDINGS

• Former CFO facilitated apparent kickbacks totaling $547,595 from two Eastpointe contractors
• Former CFO purchased three vehicles totaling $143,041 without a documented business purpose
• Former CFO purchased $18,600 of equipment for personal use
• Former CFO, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and other employees used Eastpointe credit cards to make $157,565 of questionable purchases
• Inadequate CEO and area board oversight contributed to operational failures

Eastpointe is one of 9 MCOs in NC charged with managing and supervising Medicaid behavioral health care services. So what do we do when the entity IN CHARGE of managing Medicaid money is mismanaging tax dollars???

Where is the supervision??

Over the last few years, since the MCOs went live across the state, I have seen the MCOs terminate Medicaid providers for no cause, claim providers owed money, penalties, plans of corrections (POC), and/or refuse to contract with providers for reasons as silly as:

• Failing to put shoes on a paraplegic (no feet), because the assessment included that the patient required help dressing;
• Using green ink (a personal favorite) on a service note;
• Having signatures on service notes that are difficult to read (so the auditors assume that the person doesn’t have the correct licenses).

Here, we have the State Auditor finding that Eastpointe’s former CFO unilaterally hired two contractors to improve Eastpointe’s building (paid for with Eastpointe’s funding), but the former CFO accepting over half a million dollars.  This is no green ink! This is no insignificant finding!!

What is Eastpointe’s funding?

As you can see, 72.7% of Eastpointe’s funding is pure Medicaid money. When Eastpointe’s former CFO received $547,595 in kickbacks, 72%, or $394,268.40, should have been used to provide Medicaid behavioral health care services.

These are our tax dollars, people!!  These are our tax dollars budgeted to aid our most needy population with behavioral health care services!!  These are our tax dollars budgeted to provide psychiatric services, substance abuse services, and services for those with developmental disabilities!!!!

Our State Auditor states in her report, “The former CFO may have violated several state laws including fraud, misrepresentation, and obtaining property by false pretenses.”

Let’s look at a couple of those statutes that may have been violated:

42 U.S. Code § 1320a–7b imposes criminal penalties for acts involving Federal health care programs, and federal dollars pay a portion of our Medicaid program.

North Carolina General Statute § 14-234 states: “No public officer or employee who is involved in making or administering a contract on behalf of a public agency may derive a direct benefit from the contract except as provided in this section, or as otherwise allowed by law.”

The question becomes was the former CFO of Eastpointe, at the time of the receipt of kickbacks a “public officer” or “employee who is involved in making or administrating a contract on behalf of a public agency?” I believe the answer is yes, at least as to the latter.

Here is the point in this blog that my personal views will be aired. I find the former CFO’s behavior significantly opprobrious and reprehensible.

Here we have an MCO which is in charge of behavioral health care for our most vulnerable and needy populations…not just those in poverty, but those in poverty suffering from mental illness, substance abuse, and/or developmental disabilities (MH/SA/DD). Obviously, those Medicaid recipients suffering from MH/SA/DD will not have the means to hire a private attorney to defend their interests. When they receive denials for authorizations or reductions in services, they are defenseless. Sure, some children have strong advocate parents, but, on the whole, those suffering from MH/SA/DD have little to no advocates.

Juxtapose someone sitting in the role of a CFO…a chief financial officer of a company. Think he or she can hire a private attorney?? Think he or she has advocates or means to hire advocates??
How can someone in power abuse that power to the detriment of the under-privileged and sleep at night? I find the State Auditor’s audit findings repugnant beyond comprehension.

We are left with a former CFO who may or may not have committed criminal activity, but, who, at least according to the State Auditor, has received kickbacks. We are left with questions.

Is it only Eastpointe? Or all 9 MCOs? How much Medicaid money is lining the pockets of MCO executives, instead of paying for medically necessary services for Medicaid recipients?  Will there be justice?

We can only hope that this audit is a catalyst to consequences.