Article archive / April 1, 2016
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 4. Source pages: 9.
In December 2015, defendants in the government’s case against psychologists who delivered Medicare services for people in nursing homes, asked for information to use in their defense.
According to documents posted by Leagle, defendant Gertrude Parker and her counsel asked for 1) affidavits to the seizure warrants that resulted in the forfeiture of Parker’s bank accounts; 2) the Medicare beneficiaries for whom the United States contends fraudulent services were billed; 3) the United States’ documentation and interpretation of CPT Code 96101; and 4) the identities of the unnamed co-conspirators.
Medicare publishes information about CPT Codes, which are copyrighted by the American Medical Association but which are public by the Obama administration. The CPT code 96101 is psychological testing with a report written by a psychologist.
From available documents, it appears that the Government attorneys asked that the identities of “unnamed co-conspirators” be kept secret from defendants. Both sets of defendants appear to have requested to know the identities of these individuals. Because of an apparent time limit, this seems to have been denied Defendant Parker. However, Judge Carl Barbier appears to have granted it to Defendants John Teal and Beverly Stubblefield.
Dr. Rodney Hesson and Ms. Parker own and operate a firm that provided services across four states for several of years. Dr. Teal, a medical psychologist from Mississippi licensed in Louisiana, and Dr. Stubblefield, a well-known member of the community, are said to have worked as employees at the Hesson firm for a short time.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.