The agency and its owner were found to have violated the Connecticut False Claims Act.
Hope Home Health Agency, a Connecticut-based home health provider, and its owner, Miledy Marmol, have reached a $150,000 settlement with the state to resolve allegations that it violated the Connecticut False Claims Act.
An initial investigation by the state's office of the attorney general found that the agency had been billing Medicaid for services delivered by aides who weren't trained to do so as well as delivering services to clients without a treatment plan signed by their physician.
"Hope Home Health Agency ignored basic training and treatment oversight requirements in place to ensure that patients receive the safe, professional healthcare they require and that the state pays for," William Tong, Connecticut attorney general, said in a statement. "Our investigation began after a [Department of Public Health] inspection and survey identified serious care deficiencies at [Hope Home Health Agency]."
After being notified of its care deficiencies in December 2017, Hope Home Health was required to find an independent trainer for its home health aides, according to a news release. Later, a consent order issued in August 2019 required them to employ an independent nurse consultant to monitor operations.
The consultant would report that the agency failed to address its care deficiencies, continued to train aides internally without a qualified independent trainer, and allowed them to continue providing services.
An additional investigation into the agency was then opened by the office of the attorney general, which found that Hope Home Health had also been billing Connecticut Medicaid for services without a treatment plan signed by their clients’ physicians first. In some cases, a treatment plan was never obtained.
Hope Home Health closed for business after the agency stopped billing the Connecticut Medicaid program in November 2019.
Jasmyne Ray is the revenue cycle editor at HealthLeaders.