The investigation was conducted by HHS-OIG, DEA and MFCU, members of the United States Attorneys Healthcare Fraud Abuse, Recovery and Response Team (ARREST), an innovative approach linking civil and criminal enforcement efforts together in a comprehensive attack on the opioid epidemic and healthcare fraud. Source: Marketwatch. Ask a Question. It's easy to become a Seeking Alpha contributor and earn money for your best investment ideas. For example, its time the Federal Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) review the reliability of the Joint Commission, a non-profit tax exempt organization, giving accreditation to hospitals as a condition of licensure for the receipt of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. Of course, for mental health; reimbursements get double-scrutiny thanks to fraud and broadly defined parameters of treatment. 2017, https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/uhs-hot-seat-senator-calls-for-federal-probe-over-patient-care-concerns-at-top, [6] https://www.healthexec.com/topics/quality/joint-commissions-failure-has-senator-asking-how-make-its-inspections-public, [7]Acadia Healthcare: ADHS Documents Reveal Violence and Understaffing at Oasis Behavioral Health, Capitol Forum, Vol. For months, former patients and their families have complained of unexplained injuries after leaving Lakeview. Acadia would suffer greatly from any changes in the regulatory environment. Rate It! Courtesy: Acadia Healthcare, ACHC: Insider Holdings Decline Since 2015. This corporation is taking. If an organization operates unethically, the organization moves further away from its ethical code and widens the Integrity Gap.[2] Clearly, this advice was not taken because for-profit behavioral hospital chains today have not just widened the gap, theyve created a gigantic chasm. In the United Kingdom, the majority of Acadia's revenue comes from its healthcare facilities, and virtually all of the payment received is from the National Health Service. The following month, the child's family filed a wrongful death suit against Ascent (owned by Acadia), the employees, and its corporate entities for $135 million. Prior to the act, insurers could require people to pay a greater share of the cost associated with mental health and substance abuse. Yet Acadia has not made any purchases in the last two years, and they have begun to champion joint venture de novo projects like the one with St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, for example. Employees are very underpaid and there is no sense of teamwork between employees. Los Angeles, CA 90028 800-869-2247 323-467-4242 323-467-3720 Fax. 17). It has been saddled with $3.7 billion in debt, unable to pay it down since Q1 2017. There has been speculation of a private equity buyout of the company; however, this has not been verified. A lock ( 20,000 Employees We employ professionals who are dedicated to developing innovative ways to deliver individualized behavioral health treatment. The Commission bases its accreditation on surveys paid for by the hospitals. A major investor-owned mental health and addiction treatment company will pay the federal government $17 million to settle allegations it defrauded Medicaid in West Virginia. Beckley: (304) 253-6722 The deficiencies led to a failure by the Company to: protect patients from sexual abuse; provide patient care in a safe environment; ensure its patients were adequately monitored; ensure its facilities were adequate(ly) staffed, adequately train and supervise its staff; and ensure incidents were properly reported to state and federal authorities." Beth Tipton said her mother is a former patient and victim. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. If any of the above happens, it will likely cause Mizuho (which currently has a $60 price target) and Wells Fargo to downgrade the stock as they have in the past, causing a further sell-off. In terms of at the federal level, Oklahoma-based Special Agent Alan Carpenter of the FBI did respond to the original inquiry, however, nothing has been addressed in Oklahoma, or nationally, to date. GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. More than 50 local police officers raided a local mental health hospital. Click here to find out more , Insider Trading Volume Since 2015. ; https://www.jointcommission.org/about/jointcommissionfaqs.aspx#2323. West Virginia-based Acadia Healthcare, along with subsidiary CRC Health, has agreed to dole out $17 million to settle accusations of fraud, representing the largest fraud-related settlement in the history of the state, according to a settlement agreement released this week. On January 20, 2021, the Honorable William L. Campbell, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee denied defendants' motion to dismiss in St. Clair County Employees' Retirement System v. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., a case alleging Acadia and certain of its officers violated 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As of September 30, 2021, Acadia operated a network of 230 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 10,200 beds in 40 states and Puerto Rico. Medicaid fraud is not a victimless crime. Behavioral Healthcare M&A Deal Volume. The West Virginia Centers provide outpatient drug treatment, including the administration of Methadone and the prescribing of Suboxone and Subutex. According to the Archer complaint, there was no supervision or security present at the time of the incident due to the understaffed personnel. $11,000. On average, how many hours do you work a day at . ET by Tomi Kilgore. Jacobs said they have chosen not to change their loans to fixed-rate instruments because they found that financially inviable for the company. It offers behavioral healthcare services to its patients in various settings, including inpatient psychiatric facilities, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment . Deal is largest for health care fraud in West Virginia history, Shugga Hi owner sues for right to buy property eyed for ER, Grading the Predators major trades so far. Operating cash flows for 2023 are expected to be $450-$500 million , suggesting a rise . Things dont seem to be improving for the Franklin, TN-based healthcare provider; Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (ACHC). According to The New York Times: Starting in 2010, as opioid abuse evolved into a crisis and the Affordable Care Act offered insurance to millions more young people, the cost of urinalysis tests soared. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in West Virginia is the single entity of the West Virginia state government that is certified annually by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct statewide investigations of healthcare providers that defraud the Medicaid program. The Mental Health Watchdog Acadia is a leading provider of behavioral healthcare services across the United States. This is a very large-scale investigation, said Gwinnett County Police Spokesperson Michele Pihera. A place to come and make your grievances against Acadia Health Care public. Charleston, WV 25301, 110 North Heber Street This most recent quarter (Q3, 2018), they missed earnings by $.10. A place to come and make your grievances against Acadia Health Care public. Acadia Healthcare. Ever, and presently chairs the Illinois State Police Merit Board, Patient was a minor at the time of the intimacies, Patient had experienced incest or other child sex abuse, Patient had experienced rape prior to intimacies with therapist, Patient required hospitalization considered to be at least partially a result of the intimacies, Patient achieved complete recovery from any harmful effects of intimacies, Patient filed formal (e.g., licensing, malpractice) complaint. Acadia is experiencing skyrocketing competition from legitimate firms. Email the writer:jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com, 2023 Healthcare Finance is a publication of HIMSS Media, Optum: Two new Alzheimer's drugs in the pipeline, AHA voices support for telehealth expansion bill, Amazon completes $3.9B acquisition of One Medical, Healthcare organizations ask HHS to delay quality measure reporting for ACOs. Revenue totaled $675.3 million, an increase of 13.8% over the fourth . Acadia owns seven treatment centers in West Virginia, in Beckley, Charleston, Clarksburg, Huntington, Parkersburg, Wheeling and Williamson. On February 28, 2018, The Attorney General's office was notified upon first discovery of potentially harmful misconduct at Acadia. Officials brought their own truck and van for all the evidence they expected to find. The best natural target was opioid addiction, with its high demand for substance abuse treatment services. Medicaid fraud cost states billions of dollars every year, diverting funds that could otherwise be used for legitimate health care services. Apr 30 2018. The American Addiction Centers incident led to increased oversight into the industry and increasing regulation. This is a strong message and a massive penalty. Acadia recently reported that profits slid in the first quarter to $29.5 million from more than $50 million early last year, led mostly by personnel costs. Fraudulent billing by these Acadia/CRC drug treatment clinics, as contended by the government, limits the States ability to provide desperately needed addiction treatment services, said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region including West Virginia. This is the embodiment of the operational and financial abuses that have permeated this industry. A second attempt to contact AG Sessions was made on April 26, 2018. Acadia (Nasdaq: ACHC) operates close to 600 facilities in 40 states and the United Kingdom, and is Middle Tennessee's fifth-largest publicly traded health care company, with $2.84 billion of . A press release on that date, issued by the plaintiff('s) counsel, Robbins, Geller, Rudman, & Dowd LLP, stated that Jacobs and the PSI leadership ended the dispute. Our intensive, holistic 6 treatment model results in a depth of recovery that is transformational for residents, and fulfilling for our staff. The State cited (Belmont-Combined-State-Inspections.pdf) the facility for lack of staff and lack of facilities that would prevent suicides, among other things. While not related to securities, Penn served 14-months in federal prison, for bank fraud when he was 23-years-old. Fort Myers, FL, Park Royal Hospital. There was a child that was escorted to the hospital because he was punched in the face by a staff member. Medicaid, induced by the claims submitted by Acadias treatment centers, paid the treatment centers a substantially higher amount than the San Diego Lab charged to actually perform the testing. Little time off, no office time flexibility, constant urgency, lack of communication (from corporate down to the facility level ESPECIALLY at the facility level), and underpaying employees are the opposite of what this company was built on. The company also tried to buy Highland Hospital in Charleston in 2016, with the Highland board unanimously approving the sale, but hospital officials later said the deal was nixed, and Highland instead was scooped up by Meridian Behavioral Health Systems in 2017. 27). When a behavioral healthcare company stops growing its business, but revenue and profit margins continue to grow, that's a problem. Investigators spent hours going through evidence today at two Lakeview Behavioral Health buildings in Gwinnett County. One complaint alleges wrongful death due to the neglect of patient Grace Cho. [4]Acadia Healthcare: ADHS Documents Reveal Violence and Understaffing at Oasis Behavioral Health, Capitol Forum, Vol. 7, No. Courtesy: Acadia Healthcare. Nearly 600,000 West Virginians rely on Medicaid for the payment of critical services. As of June 30, 2021, Acadia operated a network of 229 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 10,100 beds in 40 states and Puerto Rico. Reeve Waud (left) with Governor Bruce Rauner (R-IL) (right). 7, No. 16). In June 2017, four employees were charged with manslaughter after a 5-year-old boy died. Two years ago, Brown Consulting Behavioral Services warned that with increased attention of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Behavioral Healthcare leaders, like other healthcare leaders, must re-examine their internal operations and practices to protect their organizations from fraud and abuse. The July 21, 2017 article spoke of an Integrity Gap, referring to the distance between day-to-day conduct and the ethical standards of the organization. Another law, passed in 1997, had tried to achieve something similar. I'll first provide you with . Is this happening to you frequently? Acadia has $6 billion in long-term assets and $3.4 in long-term liabilities, yet when the goodwill from purchases is removed from the books, the company's worth approaches $0. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. By offering medication-assisted. Both facilities are still open. Lock $17 million the largest healthcare fraud settlement in the history of West Virginia, said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Since mid-August 2015, insider holdings have dwindled from 30% to less than 1%. Questionable accounting for goodwill and PPE depreciation expenses. A large non-profit acquired the firm in 2016, and it still thrives today, despite Penn moving on to his passion: investing.Now, a decade later, Penn has exited three start-ups. Revocation seems rare and in the case of repeated allegations against facilities in the behavioral health industry questions whether this contributes to patients health and lives being kept at risk. Our human resources department helps ensure that our teams consist of the very finest candidates, and they assist our employees in making the most of their Acadia experience. Courtesy Acadia Healthcare, Cap Table: 2013 ACHC Proxy Statement (pp. Myron Ballou, 70, was hospitalized at Rolling Hills in December 2017 after staff at the Oklahoma Veterans Center observed changes in his behavior, his wife, Marsha, said. See Debbie Osteen's compensation, career history, education, & memberships. According to the Acadia website, this facility is: located on 43 tranquil acres in the suburbs of Chicago. Absent sufficient regulation, the industry saw nearly every publicly-listed behavioral healthcare providers stock soar from 2012-2015, as seen below: Stock Price for ACHC (Time Range: Initial Public Offering - 11/13/18). Waived laboratory tests are simple tests with a low risk for an incorrect result. Earlier this year in California, Christopher Bathum, the owner of a facility, was convicted of multiple sexual assaults of patients. If one of them sells, it will trigger a mad rush for the door as they look for higher-growth opportunities (healthcare is experiencing 13.7% growth, while Acadia's has shrunk to 9.5%). Carpenter didnt respond further. Acadia is nearing a high-risk of default, and logically, would soon be unable to continue to borrow for growth. Non-waived laboratory testing, in contrast, consists of moderate and high complexity testing. The organization will pay $17 million to the United States and $2.2 milion to the state of West Virginia. However, an expert in the industry says that Acadia has developed an industry-wide reputation for not providing quality care, cutting costs, and cannibalizing their own programs in order to raise profits. When Bleecker Street Research brought to light ACCs over-billing practices for urine tests, that was the fatal blow. Source: Complaint in US District Court (Garden City Employees Ret. According to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Many users were young adults and children on their parents' insurance plans.