NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper announced a settlement on Wednesday with CRC Health Group to resolve allegations of defrauding the state's Medicaid program.
CRC Health Group, through its Burns-based New Life Lodge Facility, allegedly provided substandard services, exceeded its state-licensed patient capacity and caused third-party pharmacies to bill the TennCare program for prescription drugs it was already obligated to provide to TennCare beneficiaries. CRC allegedly failed to meet TennCare standards by relying on personnel who were not appropriately licensed or supervised, billed for services that were not documented or provided and failed to conform to the facility's own patient treatment plans.
"New Life Lodge accepted millions of dollars of TennCare funds with the understanding that it would provide necessary substance abuse treatment services to some of the state's most vulnerable citizens," Cooper said. "Instead, far too often those operating the facility failed to meet their obligations by falling short of minimum necessary standards of care or using third-party pharmacies to double-bill the program."
Under the terms of the settlement, CRC will pay $9.25 million. The recovery will be divided between the state and federal governments with the state receiving approximately $3.4 million. CRC did not admit liability as part of the agreement.
CRC Health Group settles with Tennessee, will pay state and feds $9.25M
