LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ A judge has ruled Arkansas officials acted
properly in suspending Medicaid payments to a Missouri-based behavioral health
provider.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports Administrative Law Judge Vicki
Pickering upheld the suspension by Arkansas Medicaid Inspector General Elizabeth
Smith on Monday.
Smith suspended payments to Preferred Family Healthcare on June 29 after a
former executive with the nonprofit was arrested in the improper billing of
nearly $2.3 million in claims for mental health services.
Preferred Family appealed the suspension, but Pickering said federal
regulations require states to suspend Medicaid payments in response to a
“credible allegation of fraud.”
The nonprofit says it’s reviewing the ruling before deciding whether to appeal
it to circuit court.
Preferred Family is the largest counseling provider for troubled individuals in
Arkansas.
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