Latest / Becker's Healthcare Behavioral Health / New Jersey Bill Would Lower Age for Youth Mental Healthcare Without Parental Consent; Connecticut Physician, Behavioral Health Group Owner Gets 4 Years Prison for Psychotherapy Fraud

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New Jersey Bill Would Lower Age for Youth Mental Healthcare Without Parental Consent; Connecticut Physician, Behavioral Health Group Owner Gets 4 Years Prison for Psychotherapy Fraud · Becker's Healthcare Behavioral Health

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  This is Randy Homan with Becker's Behavioral Health Podcast.
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  Here's your daily industry news brief For May 1st, first,
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  proposed legislation in New Jersey would lower the age for youth to access
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  mental healthcare without parental consent to 13. Currently,
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  children can seek care without parental consent at 16.
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  This is similar to over 30 other states. If the bill passes,
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  New Jersey would join five states with access to mental healthcare at 13.
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  In 2016, legislators tried to lower the age initially to 14.
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  Governor Chris Christie Vedo.
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  This opponents of the bill feel parents have a right to know what's going on
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  with their children to help them and also believe children will not seek out
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  services without their parents' permission. Second,
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  comprehensive healthcare plans to open a new behavioral health facility at Camp
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  Hope, which is an emergency homeless shelter in Yakimo Washington.
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  The facility will offer outpatient behavioral health services and immediate
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  coordination and referral of healthcare needs. Also,
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  those living at the shelter will have access to therapy.
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  It will be constructed from cost effective, long-lasting,
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  easily movable shipping containers. Facility.
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  Patients will have access to support of transitional housing and receive
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  physical healthcare as well.
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  The center is made possible by a grant of over 1 million from Washington
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  third, 45 year old Doctor Ann Kumar.
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  Phil Ethan Athen is sentenced to four years in prison for behavioral health
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  fraud and kickbacks. This will be followed by three years of supervised release.
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  Dr. Phil Anne Ethan is the owner and president of MD Care now,
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  which is a practice in Stratford and Milford, Connecticut.
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  This practice has been enrolled in the state Medicaid program as an internal
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  medicine group and a behavioral health clinician group.
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  Between June, 2019 and May 22. Dr.
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  Phil Athen was responsible for over $800,000 in fraudulent claims
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  for psychotherapy services that he knew were not provided.
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  He submitted claims to Medicaid that falsely represented his employees had
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  rendered 60 minute psychotherapy sessions. Instead,
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  they either had brief conversations with patients,
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  only left a voicemail or had no contact with them at all.
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  Dr. Phil and Ethan paid a third party patient recruiting company for each of the
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  over 1000 Connecticut Medicaid patients it recruited.
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  He paid the company about $100 per patient for initial visits and about
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  $40 per patient after that Connecticut Medicaid reimbursed MD
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  care now over 1 million for services claimed to be provided to these
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  patients. Dr.
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  Th Ethan is ordered to pay over 1.6 million in restitution.
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  $500,000 is due within 60 days.
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  Thanks for listening.
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  Subscribe to the Becker Behavioral Health Report eNewsletter on our website,
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