New York Hospitals Accused of $50 Million Medicaid Fraud

Seven hospitals in New York are accused of fraudulently billing Medicaid for more than $50 million, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The lawsuits, brought by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell, claim that four hospitals allegedly paid kickbacks to Missouri-based SpecialCare Hospital Management Corp. to get more patients into drug treatment programs and another one tried to bribe homeless patients to participate in a detox program, according to the report.

The hospitals accused of paying kickbacks are Columbia Memorial Physicians Hospital Organization Inc., in Hudson; Long Beach Medical Center; New York Downtown Hospital; and St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers; the hospital accused of finding homeless for the detox program is Queens' Parkway Hospital (which closed late last year).

The other defendants are the former Our Lady of Mercy (now run by Montefiore Medical Center) in the Bronx and Benedictine Hospital in Kingston.

Read the Associated Press report on New York hospitals Medicaid fraud.