LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) — Step by Step Senior Care Inc., an Arkansas home health care company, will pay $718,365.74 to resolve allegations of false claims, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has announced.
According to claims, the company committed fraud with many questionable billing practices. In the settlement, Step by Step will repay the Arkansas Medicaid Program Trust Fund $479,577.16 and pay a civil penalty of $239,788.58. Additionally, the settlement mandates that the company be monitored in the future and prohibits former operators Breon Harmon and Clarise Tatum from working with the company for five years.
“As Arkansas’ chief legal officer, I am committed to using all means necessary to hold not just individuals but also companies accountable for Medicaid fraud,” Rutledge said. “I filed this lawsuit so that Step by Step Senior Care Inc. and its owners would be held accountable for their deception. Today’s settlement should also alert other health care companies that fraudulent actions are a serious offense which I will fully investigate and take legal action if necessary.”