Dr. Ray Smith, a mental health counselor practicing in Spokane, and his company, “A Brief Counseling Center,” also known as “Healthy Counseling Center” (“ABCC”) have agreed to pay $138,984 to resolve allegations that he and his company fraudulently billed Washington State Medicaid. Dr. Smith is a licensed mental health counselor in the State of Washington and is the sole owner of ABCC. During the relevant time period, ABCC employed a number of mental health treatment providers, and billed Washington State Medicaid for their services. Washington State Medicaid — also known as Apple Health — is funded by federal and state taxpayers and provides health insurance for needy and low-income residents of Washington. Medicaid provides reimbursement for mental health treatment services provided by qualified and licensed providers who are enrolled and contracted with the state Health Care Authority, which administers the Medicaid program in Washington.
According to court documents, this settlement resolves allegations under the False Claims Act that Dr. Smith and ABCC improperly billed Medicaid for unlicensed and unqualified therapists who did not meet qualification requirements, were not contracted with the state, and were not eligible for reimbursement through Medicaid. The settlement also resolves allegations that Dr. Smith and ABCC fraudulently billed Medicaid for the services by falsely misrepresenting that the services had been provided by licensed and qualified therapists.
