{"id":22984,"date":"2021-12-03T00:13:05","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T06:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/?p=22984"},"modified":"2021-12-03T09:24:10","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T15:24:10","slug":"state-investigates-managed-care-company-empower-for-alleged-medicaid-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/12\/03\/state-investigates-managed-care-company-empower-for-alleged-medicaid-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"State investigates managed care company Empower for alleged Medicaid fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This story was updated with additional details at 9:25 a.m., Friday, Dec. 3.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Empower Healthcare Solutions, a managed care organization that serves roughly 20,000 high-need Medicaid beneficiaries in Arkansas, is under investigation by state regulators and the attorney general\u2019s office for allegedly defrauding Medicaid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/MFCU-to-OMIG-about-Empower.pdf\"><span style=\"\">In a letter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> sent to the state\u2019s Office of Medicaid Inspector General on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Lloyd Warford said a full investigation into allegations of fraud was only now getting under way. But an initial review found \u201csufficient credible evidence\u201d to support the suspension of Empower from the Medicaid program, he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">The Office of Medicaid Inspector General <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/MFCU-to-OMIG-about-Empower.pdf\"><span style=\"\">notified Empower the next day<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> it was being sanctioned and would be subject to enhanced monitoring. The inspector general stopped short of suspending all payments to the company, however, \u201cdue to the fact Empower currently serves over 20,000 Medicaid beneficiaries who depend on Empower for continuity of care.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Empower is the largest of the state\u2019s four Provider-led Arkansas Shared Savings Entities, or PASSEs: managed care organizations that contract with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) to pay for and coordinate care for high-need, high-cost Medicaid beneficiaries with intellectual or developmental disabilities, behavioral health disorders or both.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">PASSEs must be majority owned by health care providers, but their role is similar to insurance companies. Each PASSE receives a fixed monthly sum per member from DHS, the agency that administers Medicaid in Arkansas. The PASSE then pays for care for all its members, which can include costly services like inpatient treatment or around-the-clock help for people with disabilities. In 2020, Medicaid paid out almost $1.3 billion for the state\u2019s roughly 50,000 PASSE beneficiaries, according to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Exhibit-F.1.pdf\"><span style=\"\">documents<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> provided to a legislative committee in June.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Mitch Morris, Empower\u2019s CEO, said in an email Thursday evening that the organization \u201c<\/span><span style=\"\">denies <\/span><span style=\"\">any allegations of fraud or any other misconduct.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">\u201cAs stated by the AG\u2019s office, a final determination has not been made and Empower will continue to cooperate with the investigation. We look forward to resolving these issues with the state of Arkansas and continuing our focus on advancing health services and outcomes for the 20,000 Arkansans served by Empower,\u201d Morris said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">The letter from Warford, the deputy attorney general, gives limited information about the nature of the allegations. Empower is accused of misappropriating money claimed as \u201ccommunity investment\u201d expenses \u2014 a type of capacity-building expenditure allowed under the PASSE program. Almost $4.7 million in community investments claimed by Empower in 2020 have \u201cno support,\u201d the letter says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">The letter also says a group of 25 behavioral health providers \u201cwere collectively overpaid approximately $3.7 million\u201d by a program set up by Empower in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, medical and community services across the country were being interrupted by shutdowns. Empower created a \u201cstabilization\u201d program designed to give short-term payments to the 25 behavioral health providers that treated the largest number of the PASSE\u2019s members. But an actuarial consultant hired by Empower determined those providers were collectively overpaid some $3.7 million, the letter says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Empower also allegedly protected some providers from its internal audit process, Warford wrote.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Morris said in an email that \u201cthe programs under review comply with federal and state laws and are designed to enhance the delivery of services and to improve care to our beneficiaries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">\u201cThe issues being investigated do not involve care provided to members,\u201d he noted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Empower faced mounting problems even before the fraud allegations surfaced. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/11\/06\/medicaid-managed-care-company-sues-outgoing-corporate-co-owner-alleging-sabotage\/\"><span style=\"\">Fallout from the departure of one of the company\u2019s co-owners<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> has raised questions about whether the PASSE will have the capacity to keep operating next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/11\/19\/state-sanctions-empower-says-medicaid-managed-care-company-misrepresented-facts\/\"><span style=\"\">DHS temporarily suspended new enrollments to Empower on Nov. 19<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\">. The agency completed a \u201creadiness review\u201d of Empower last week but has not yet made a decision about the PASSE\u2019s status for 2022, a DHS spokesman said Thursday afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Nonetheless, DHS sent <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/DHS-letter-to-Empower-members.pdf\"><span style=\"\">a letter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> to Empower clients Thursday notifying them of Empower\u2019s partial suspension from Medicaid and letting them know they may change to a different PASSE if they so choose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry. You\u2019re not losing coverage, and nothing will change for you at this time,\u201d the DHS letter says. \u201cTo ensure you continue to have the access to care and services that you need, Empower will continue to get payment from Medicaid for services. You may remain in your current PASSE. However, should you want to switch to another PASSE you may do so by contacting 1-833-402-0672.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Danette Smith, a Hot Spring County resident whose daughter is an Empower member, had already decided to change to a different PASSE before news of the fraud allegations broke this week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Smith\u2019s daughter, Sophia, 28, is autistic and mostly nonverbal. She requires 24\/7 assistance and has other complex medical needs, Smith said. When the PASSE system was first rolled out, in 2018, Sophia was initially assigned to a different PASSE, Summit Community Care. But not all of Sophia\u2019s doctors were included in Summit\u2019s network at that time, Smith said, so she switched to Empower.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Smith hasn\u2019t been satisfied with Empower in the years since. The PASSE has denied claims for medications and supplements, she said, and often has failed to communicate with her and other parents. The recent uncertainty over Empower\u2019s future has been the final straw. She believes Empower is unlikely to be re-authorized to participate in the system in 2022, which would mean its thousands of members would be reassigned to other PASSEs by DHS.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">\u201cI have already chosen to move [Sophia], because I\u2019m not going to wait until January,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s very concerning to parents, because we put our trust in them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">\u201cOn the front end, they made a lot of promises that didn\u2019t come through. And now we have a PASSE that\u2019s going under. \u2026 It\u2019s all about money. Not about the members, not about my daughter \u2014 it\u2019s all about money,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">The recent turmoil within Empower stems from its ongoing breakup with Beacon Health Options, a Boston-based company that is one of the nation\u2019s largest behavioral health organizations. Beacon has owned a 16.66% stake in Empower since the PASSE was formed in 2017. (The remainder of Empower is owned by several health care entities based in Arkansas.) Beacon also contracts with Empower to provide administrative services and has played a critical role in Empower\u2019s day-to-day operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">But in 2020, Beacon was acquired by insurance giant Anthem. Anthem also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arkansasonline.com\/news\/2019\/sep\/15\/deal-sets-up-insurer-for-stakes-in-2-ma\/\"><span style=\"\">owns a stake<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> in Summit Community Care \u2014 another PASSE and a rival of Empower. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arkleg.state.ar.us\/Bills\/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FHB1515.pdf\"><span style=\"\">state law<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> passed earlier this year prohibited companies from owning portions of more than one PASSE, and Beacon soon began separating itself from Empower.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">On Nov. 2, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/11\/06\/medicaid-managed-care-company-sues-outgoing-corporate-co-owner-alleging-sabotage\/\"><span style=\"\">Empower sued Beacon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\">, accusing it of sabotaging Empower for the benefit of its new owner. The lawsuit claims Beacon has refused to turn over phone numbers, email accounts and critical databases and documents as the two companies worked towards finalizing their divorce at the end of the year. Empower and Beacon have also sparred over the issue of credentialing providers within Empower\u2019s provider network.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">\u201cSince the merger, Beacon has engaged in conduct that suggests that it is functioning as a Trojan-horse for Anthem,\u201d Empower\u2019s complaint says. (The lawsuit was originally in federal court but was refiled in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Nov. 15. No hearing date had been set as of Dec. 2.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">In addition to Beacon, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getempowerhealth.com\/about-us\/\"><span style=\"\">Empower is co-owned<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> by five Arkansas-based health care organizations. They are Arkansas Community Health Network, a consortium of four hospital systems; Statera, a long-term care company; Independent Case Management, a provider of home and community-based services for people with developmental disabilities; The Arkansas Healthcare Alliance, a group of providers for behavioral health and developmental disability services; and, ARcare, a network of clinics and other providers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">According to documents provided to a legislative committee in June, Empower has the largest share of beneficiaries among the four Arkansas PASSEs, with some 20,000 members. Summit Community Care, the PASSE that is co-owned by Anthem, had more than 16,000 members. Arkansas Total Care, which is partially owned by health insurance company Centene, had over 13,000 members. The fourth PASSE is a newcomer to the state: CareSource PASSE, partially owned by an Ohio-based managed care company, was licensed earlier this year and is also undergoing a readiness review.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"\">This story is courtesy of <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/arknews.org\/\"><i><span style=\"\">the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"\">, an independent, nonpartisan news project dedicated to producing journalism that matters to Arkansans.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a letter, Deputy Attorney General Lloyd Warford said a full investigation into allegations of fraud was only now getting under way. But an initial review found \u201csufficient credible evidence\u201d to support the suspension of Empower from the Medicaid program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":22986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111,133],"tags":[433,115,439,440,431],"class_list":["post-22984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-care","category-public-corruption","tag-empower-healthcare-solutions","tag-medicaid","tag-medicaid-fraud","tag-omig","tag-passe"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>State investigates managed care company Empower for alleged Medicaid fraud - Arkansas Nonprofit News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/12\/03\/state-investigates-managed-care-company-empower-for-alleged-medicaid-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State investigates managed care company Empower for alleged Medicaid fraud - Arkansas Nonprofit News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a letter, Deputy Attorney General Lloyd Warford said a full investigation into allegations of fraud was only now getting under way. But an initial review found \u201csufficient credible evidence\u201d to support the suspension of Empower from the Medicaid program.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/12\/03\/state-investigates-managed-care-company-empower-for-alleged-medicaid-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arkansas Nonprofit News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-03T06:13:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-03T15:24:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Untitled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Benjamin Hardy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Arkansas Nonprofit News Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/annn_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/annn_logo.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Arkansas Nonprofit News Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/\",\"name\":\"Arkansas Nonprofit News Network\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/12\/03\/state-investigates-managed-care-company-empower-for-alleged-medicaid-fraud\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Untitled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Untitled.jpeg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Danette Smith and daughter Sophia, an Empower member. 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