NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) — New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced March 28 that CenterLight Health System Inc. and CenterLight Healthcare Inc. (together, CenterLight) will pay $10.3 million in a joint state-federal settlement resolving allegations of false Medicaid billing. New York will receive $6.36 million in restitution and penalties.
According to allegations, CenterLight submitted false claims for monthly capitation payments for 186 members of its former managed long-term care plan, CenterLight MLTCP. These members lived in adult homes and allegedly never received the care fo which CenterLight billed Medicaid.
“When a care provider submits phony bills to Medicaid, they rip off New Yorkers and undermine the integrity of our Medicaid system,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “[This] settlement should serve as another reminder that we will hold accountable those who seek to game the system for their own benefit.”
Handling the case for New York was special assistant attorney general Alee N. Scott, who was assisted by MFCU Civil Enforcement Division chief Carolyn T. Ellis. Senior auditor-investigator Svetlana Volchyok handled the audit analysis. Additional support was provided by auditor-investigator Emily Brissette, computer programming analyst Nicholas Furnari and information processing specialist Charles Martellaro.