At least two public agencies in Silicon Valley are investigating alleged fraud involving California’s Medi-Cal program. At issue are millions of tax dollars spent transporting patients to a specific drug treatment center in the Bay Area, and allegations some of the drivers responsible for the rides may have been involved in a scheme to inflate how much they were able to charge Medi-Cal for those transportation costs.
The government probes were spurred by a yearlong NBC Bay Area investigation, which revealed serious concerns regarding Medi-Cal’s taxpayer-funded transportation service for low-income patients traveling to medical appointments. The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reviewed hundreds of pages of public records, spent days undercover, and spoke directly with patients to find out how Medi-Cal’s transportation system may be vulnerable to government waste and even abuse.
The long line of taxis
Nearly every morning, just before sunrise, a steady procession of taxicabs lines up outside an unassuming building in eastern Menlo Park. The facility houses the BAART Programs clinic, a drug treatment center that offers rehabilitative services to those battling opioid addictions, including heroin, fentanyl, and other prescription painkillers.
The cabs are there to drop off patients seeking daily doses of methadone, a medication used to reduce cravings and prevent withdrawal symptoms. While the clinic is in San Mateo County, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has learned many of the center’s patients live further south in Santa Clara County and regularly bypass closer treatment locations that Medi-Cal patients are also eligible to use…