MOLINA MEDICAL: Settles Medi-Cal Fraud Case
Long Beach-based Molina Medical Centers has settled a case in which the state Department of Health Services had charged the company with Medi-Cal fraud. Modern Healthcare reports that "after a series of meetings between company and DHS officials in early October," Molina "agreed to drop its appeal and pay a $6,000 fine to the state." The company "has since paid the fine and taken other steps to comply with the state's sanctions," Modern Healthcare reports. As part of the deal, the DHS has "retracted a demand that Molina send a follow-up mailing to enrollees who might have been misled" by marketing materials Molina sent to Medi-Cal enrollees this spring. Under terms of the settlement, Molina also accepted a "two-month suspension of new enrollment in Riverside and San Bernardino counties." John Molina, vice president of business services, said, "We agreed it was in the best interest of everybody to put this behind us." He added, "There has never been a question about the quality of care that we provide" (Rauber, 11/30 issue).
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