Two Colorado business owners have been separately charged for fraudulently billing the federal government’s Medicaid program.
The pair ran non-emergency medical transportation businesses in Douglas County and Mesa County. They provided rides for Medicaid patients – most often people without vehicles – to medical appointments or treatments. The service is reimbursed by the federal Medicaid program through its Colorado office.
Forty-year-old Ashley Stevens of Grand Junctions was indicted by a federal grand jury in December. In her case, Stevens is believed to have billed Colorado’s Medicaid office for more than $400,000 in services which, according to federal prosecutors, were rides for herself and family members. Most of those rides did not have corresponding medical appointments, as stated in the indictment. A number of rides which were billed as 400 miles or more in length per patient were also allegedly contrived. The indictment states that Stevens charged Medicaid $450,000 for those rides. Still, another $150,000 was charged for rides did not occur or did not have anything to do with any medical provider or service…