Report: Fraud suspected by Kansas health contractor

Report: Fraud suspected by Kansas health contractor

www.kansascity.com

TOPEKA | A Kansas nonprofit organization says one of its top executives is suspected of embezzling more than $1 million in Medicaid funding.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that an official with Kansas Health Solutions in Topeka was either fired or resigned after the organization began an internal review of his handling of Medicaid funds. The FBI and the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services have been notified.


Read more: www.kansascity.com...

(visit the link for the full news article)

Nice.
I have stated here before that I was at one time employed in the non-profit sector, as a Mental Health professional (pyschotherapist), and that I left the field after becoming disillusioned. My discovery of the schmoozing (not at all secret, it is normal in "fundraising" and was taught in my graduate curriculum as "grant writing" and such...) was bad enough in my opinion, but I was required to write such a "Grant" for my Masters degree. So I did.

Later, I was hired on at a Community Mental Health Center (not the one in question here in this article) in a neighboring state, and presented that same grant to a real funder's Request For Proposals. Despite my supervisor's doubts that it would be approved, it was. So I was able to start up a youth program with it.

That grant allowed for a salary for myself as well as all the funds necessary to implement the entire plan. But, instead, MOST of the grant money was redirected to pay the center's general bills, while I received a salary of 1/3 less than I had myself "raised." I reported this my appointed liaison to the funder, (though I don't know if it was ever subsequently investigated). That person did, however, explicitly tell me it was absolutely against the rules and unethical for the agency to have done so with funds allocated to my program.

Though this at first blush may seem off-topic to the story linked, it was my first glimmer of the corruption that occurs even in the "noblest" of professions.

Here is the rest of the brief "report" (story linked above):

The Medicaid money that is administered by Kansas Health Solutions serves thousands of mental health patients in the state.

Michael Goldberg, executive director of the organization, says questions about the possible embezzlement began two weeks ago after an internal review of the official's involvement with $190 million moved through the corporation by the SRS.

Short and to the point, eh?
Oh, wait, no, there's one more sentence:

No charges have been filed.

Does anyone here think they ever will be filed? And if so, on whose behalf? The mental health clients? Or Medicaid?

Talk about ironic. The corruption that is rampant yet covert is what leads many people to NEED mental health services, at every level of our "society". And someone gets the go-ahead for providing those services...and then someone within the center's infrastructure siphons out untold dollars.

If it was anything like the place I worked, there was next to no privacy allowed for sessions with clients, and the staff were given only a cubical in a bullpen from which to do paperwork and make calls -- a cubical in adjacent to the lobby, where other clients could hear everything being said if they tried.

Just sayin.....
"non-profit" does not necessarily = "ethical"

Read more: www.kansascity.com...






www.kansascity.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by wildtimes


that's Kansas for ya...
we've had a number of supected fruad cases this year...
what with the tight budgets they are finally cracking down...

reply to post by DaddyBare


Why is it, you think, that these threads related to localized corruption and fraud get so little attention here on ATS? Most of the browsers and members just want to see Alien/UFO stuff?

I don't get it.
But then, I'm a grown-up.

I have communicated with both of our (cough, cough) illustrious (cough) Senators and also with my local Rep, Kevin Yoder, (all Republicans, btw) and the only one who has personally responded was the Freshman Repub Rep. The senators? Well, one ignored me altogether, and the other simply signed me up on his "newsletter" (he being Moran).

What else are we able to do?