The New York Attorney General’s Office has secured $6 million from three Western New York nursing homes for a fraudulent billing scheme that saw the homes submit thousands of fake Medicaid claims over a period of four years, AG Letitia James said Monday.
According to the AG’s office, Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns, Safire Rehabilitation of Southtowns and Williamsville Suburban Nursing Home (the Safire homes) submitted false data that increased their Medicaid reimbursement rates from July 1, 2016 through Dec. 31, 2020.
“Nursing homes that commit financial fraud are stealing funds meant to provide care for our most vulnerable,” James said. “The Safire homes used fraudulent data to rake in millions of dollars from Medicaid without regard for the needs of the residents they were supposed to be serving. My office has rooted out fraud and resident neglect in nursing homes throughout New York, and we will continue to investigate Medicaid fraud to protect New Yorkers.”
As part of the settlement, the Safire homes will repay a total of $9 million and implement new procedures to prevent this from happening again. The Safire homes will pay $6 million to Medicaid – $3.6 million will go to New York and $2.4 million will be paid to the federal government. The Safire homes will also pay an additional $3 million to the federal government.