State investigators searched the offices of a troubled organization that serves Minnesotans with disabilities, after finding evidence it had bilked the state's publicly funded health insurance program by more than $4 million.
A search warrant application alleges that Bridges MN, which at one point had about 400 clients and 90 group homes statewide, violated state and federal laws by billing the state Medicaid program for services designed to help people live in their own homes, when in fact the services were provided by entities owned or operated by Bridges MN or its affiliates.
The provider also billed for services that were not provided, often because the client was at a hospital or other facility, the search warrant application alleges.
No one has been charged in the case, and a lawyer for Bridges MN has denied the allegations. But the organization has been the subject of regulatory sanctions after state inspectors documented serious violations of patient safety and care standards.
Investigators with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and the state Attorney General's Office have found at least $4 million in overpayments from the Medicaid program. A Hennepin County District judge on Thursday approved a warrant to search the St. Louis Park office of Bridges MN, and to seize items such as computers, smart phones and other storage devices.
According to the search warrant application, DHS had repeatedly warned Bridges MN that its billing practices could be considered fraudulent, because clients who received its home and community-based services (HCBS) were not actually living in their own homes, as required under Medicaid guidelines. Instead, they were living in settings that Bridges or its affiliates either owned, managed or had a financial interest in. Investigators found that Bridges MN billed for home-based services at more than 20 properties across the state that were owned or affiliated with the provider, according to the search warrant application.
State investigators also found wide discrepancies between what Bridges MN billed the state-federal Medicaid program and the services actually provided. A DHS investigator found dozens of occasions when the provider billed for up to 24 hours in a single day for clients, including time when they were sleeping and Bridges MN was not providing services, the search warrant application states. Investigators also found 109 occasions in which Bridges billed Medicaid for services on days when the recipient was in a hospital or other facility — a practice not allowed under Medicaid.
The fraud investigative unit at DHS conducted an investigation into "various aspects of Bridges' service delivery" and found "numerous issues with Bridges billing that are consistent with fraud," according to the search warrant application, which was filed by an investigator with the state Attorney General's Office.