Healthcare Compliance Perspective – Medicaid Transportation Fraud:
Compliance Officers must audit healthcare provider contracts with outside providers/vendors such as medical transportation companies. Contracts must require participation by the outside providers/vendors in the healthcare provider’s Compliance and Ethics Prog
ram.
Twelve people were arrested last week as part of a federal and state investigation into Medicaid fraud allegedly committed by the owners and operators of medical transportation companies based in Essex County.
Criminal complaints were filed against the following people: Khalid M. Chadder, Oaiser Gondal, Anthony Armstrong, Waqas Nauman, Kurram Gondal-aka Khurram Choudhary, Sana Ulla Chadder, Maryam Oaiser Saleem Hayat, Muhammad Jahangir, Samone Marshall, Chaudary Khan, and Tukk Simpson.
The Medicaid program is a federal and state health care program that provides health care benefits to individuals and families who meet specified financial and other eligibility requirements, and certain other individuals who lack adequate resources to pay for medical care. In general, Medicaid can cover the cost of getting to and from a medical appointment when a beneficiary does not have other, suitable transportation.
The federal charges are being investigated by the FBI, and the New York State Police’s Special Investigations Unit and Troop B and are being prosecuted by an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
The state charges are being investigated by the New York State Police’s Special Investigations Unit and Troop B, as well as the Office of the New York State Inspector General, and are being prosecuted by the Office of Essex County’s District Attorney.
The federal charges filed on the 12 involve-conspiracy to commit health care fraud; offering and conspiring to pay bribes and kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries. New York State charges include-grand larceny in the second and third degree; falsifying business records in the first degree; offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree and failure to secure compensation.
According to the New York State Police Superintendent, these arrests were a culmination of a two-year long investigation into corruption involving Medicaid transportation providers, who were operating an elaborate scheme to defraud Medicaid and steal taxpayer dollars.
