NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The U.S. Justice Department accused New York state officials Tuesday of facilitating fraud, saying they let a Georgia company use a sham bidding process to gain control of and then abuse a $10 billion program to provide home care to disabled Medicaid patients.<\/p>\n
Federal lawyers made the claims in a civil lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court, naming the state\u2019s Department of Health, its Medicaid director and the Alpharetta, Georgia-based company Public Partnerships LLC, as defendants. <\/p>\n
In the lawsuit, the federal government asked a judge to order the end to any wrongdoing and to appoint a receiver to run the company. <\/p>\n
The lawsuit came two months after President Donald Trump\u2019s administration acknowledged<\/a> it made a significant error in facts to help justify its fraud probe<\/a> into New York\u2019s Medicaid program, undercutting a federal campaign to tackle waste, mostly in Democratic-led states.<\/p>\n In a statement, Public Partnerships said: \u201cWe strongly disagree with the characterizations in the complaint and will respond fully through the appropriate legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n The company added that it was selected \u201cthrough a transparent, competitive process to strengthen and modernize\u201d New York\u2019s program and to serve more than 250,000 New Yorkers who rely on home care and the hundreds of thousands of caregivers who provide the care.<\/p>\n \u201cThat mission drives every decision we make and remains our focus today,\u201d it said. \u201cWe are proud of what we have achieved with the State of New York and stand by our performance.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, the New York Department of Health said the lawsuit was \u201cbaseless … inexcusable and completely lacking in merit.\u201d It said the claims were \u201cthe latest attempt by Washington Republicans to score political points at the expense of vulnerable New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department of Health also said the courts have confirmed that the process of hiring Public Partnerships \u201cwas accomplished through a fair and legally sound competitive bidding process.\u201d<\/p>\n It added: \u201cWe look forward to the day where these disingenuous attacks can stop and our partners in Washington can look to New York as a model for how to improve to control costs and root out abuses while preserving and improving quality of care.\u201d<\/p>\n