HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) — Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby announced April 27 that New Era Rehabilitation Center and its co-founders and owners, Dr. Ebenezer Kolade and Dr. Christina Kolade, will pay $1,378,533 after allegations of false claims.
"Providers enrolled in Connecticut's Medicaid program are required to play by the rules," Jepsen said in a statement. "In this case we alleged the providers billed for psychotherapy services that were not actually provided in addition to billing, in effect, twice for the same services. This conduct diverted taxpayer dollars earmarked to help fight the opioid epidemic that has plagued our state.
"Thus, recovering these funds is among my highest priorities. We're grateful to our law enforcement partners for their continued partnership as we seek to hold accountable those who take advantage of our taxpayer-funded health care programs."
The settlement says $881,945 of the funds will go toward the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program.
"Responsible compliance with federal and state claiming rules is something that every provider must observe when enrolled in public health coverage programs," Bremby said in a statement. "The alternative is opening the system to wrongful billing and other forms of waste and abuse, whether deliberate or unintentional.”