Attorney General's News Release

June 21, 2012

Attorney General Koster recovers $124,000 in Medicaid fraud settlement

Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster announced today that he has reached a $124,164.75 settlement with Reliable Home Health Services and its owner/operator, Sharon Smith, of Overland, for submitting false claims to Medicaid.

Reliable Home Health Services provides in-home personal care attendant services to Medicaid recipients. An investigation by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit revealed that Smith and her company failed to ensure that the personal care attendants employed by her company were actually providing the services to Medicaid recipients they claimed.

Under the terms of the settlement, Reliable Home Health Services and Sharon Smith agreed to pay $46,596.95 in restitution and an additional payment of $72,567.80 to the MO HealthNet Fraud Reimbursement Fund, plus another $5,000 to the MO HealthNet Fraud Prosecution Revolving Fund for the costs of the investigation.

Smith also agreed to immediately implement a detailed Plan of Correction at Reliable Home Health Services that will ensure in-home health care services billed to Medicaid are actually provided.

“One of my top priorities as Attorney General is to prosecute those who cheat Missouri taxpayers,” Koster said. “We will continue to search for individuals who defraud the Medicaid program/system and we will recover public money stolen from our health care system.”

The investigation began as the result of a referral from Department of Social Services’ Missouri Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit.

Koster encourages citizens to report suspected Medicaid provider fraud or abuse and neglect by calling his Medicaid Fraud Hotline toll free at 800-286-3932, by e-mailing complaints to attorney.general@ago.mo.gov, or by completing a complaint form at the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Website at http://ago.mo.gov/divisions/medicaid-fraud-control-unit-faqs.htm.