Attorney General Recovers $670,000 In Settlement With Ulster County Alcoholism Treatment Center

Attorney General Spitzer today announced that Veritas Villa, Inc., an alcohol treatment facility in Kerhonkson, has agreed to repay taxpayers $670,000 for improperly billing for inpatient alcoholism services.

The settlement is based on an audit conducted by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). In reviewing the Medicaid billing records for Veritas Villa, the audit revealed that between January 1995 and September 1997 the facility received Medicaid reimbursement for inpatient and residential rehabilitation services where there was not adequate medical supervision of the physician's assistant administering the care as required under the law.

"The taxpayer-funded Medicaid program was designed to assist citizens in need," said Attorney General Spitzer. "The recovery of this money by my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the safeguards of this agreement, will go a long way in ensuring that those needs are being properly met."

In addition to repaying the $670,000 to the Medicaid program, Veritas Villa also agreed to:

• voluntarily withdraw from the Medicaid program for at least two years; and
• retain an outside monitor for six months following any re-enrollment in the Medicaid program.

Veritas Villa is located at 5 Ridgeview Road in Kerhonkson, and provides both inpatient alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs.

The audit investigation was conducted by Special Assistant Attorney General Alan Bly, of the Pearl River Regional Office of Attorney General Spitzer's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. All cases are handled under the direct supervision of Deputy Attorney General Jos? Maldonado.