BOSTON — A Massachusetts behavioral health care center will pay $612,000 for allegedly charging patients excessive cash fees for opioid addiction treatments that already were covered by the state's Medicaid program (MassHealth).
According to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, the Center for Psychiatric Medicine (CPM) allegedly charged patients cash for Suboxone treatment. Patients were told MassHealth did not cover the treatment even though the center was a MassHealth provider, the Attorney General's Office says. Some patients were charged fees of up to $325 for initial services and charged $200 for additional visits, the office alleges.
“This center stole from its own patients seeking treatment for opioid addiction and put up barriers that could have had fatal consequences,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.
According to Healy's office, MassHealth providers are required to accept payments from MassHealth as payment "in full" for substance use treatment services.
MassHealth members who are eligible for restitution will be contacted and any funds not returned will be put into the commonwealth's Unclaimed Property Division until claimed by a rightful owner, the Attorney General's Office said.