Post by pavel on Apr 3, 2016 15:43:29 GMT -6
Another Arizona firm hired in mental health shake-up to leave state
Agave Health Inc., one of five Arizona mental health care companies the state paid to replace New Mexico firms accused of Medicaid fraud, announced Friday it will stop providing services in New Mexico.
The move will affect about 3,000 patients in Northern New Mexico and could represent another disruption in mental health care for patients enrolled in Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health insurance coverage for some 850,000 low-income New Mexicans.
Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration imported Arizona providers after freezing Medicaid payments in June 2013 to 15 New Mexico companies that had cared for low-income people with mental illness or addiction. The state Human Services Department said it had “credible allegations of fraud” against the 15 New Mexico companies. But the Attorney General’s Office has since cleared 13 of those companies of criminal wrongdoing. The other two are still under investigation.
Officials with Agave said in a news release Friday that the company will continue providing services for another 90 days as the state aligns itself with another mental health care provider. Agave said in the statement that it will work with the four managed care organizations that oversee the state’s Medicaid payments to move patients to another company.
Read more: www.santafenewmexican.com/news/health_and_science/another-arizona-firm-hired-in-mental-health-shake-up-to/article_ba25faf7-f1f4-5659-8a67-79d0f779c363.html
Agave Health Inc., one of five Arizona mental health care companies the state paid to replace New Mexico firms accused of Medicaid fraud, announced Friday it will stop providing services in New Mexico.
The move will affect about 3,000 patients in Northern New Mexico and could represent another disruption in mental health care for patients enrolled in Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health insurance coverage for some 850,000 low-income New Mexicans.
Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration imported Arizona providers after freezing Medicaid payments in June 2013 to 15 New Mexico companies that had cared for low-income people with mental illness or addiction. The state Human Services Department said it had “credible allegations of fraud” against the 15 New Mexico companies. But the Attorney General’s Office has since cleared 13 of those companies of criminal wrongdoing. The other two are still under investigation.
Officials with Agave said in a news release Friday that the company will continue providing services for another 90 days as the state aligns itself with another mental health care provider. Agave said in the statement that it will work with the four managed care organizations that oversee the state’s Medicaid payments to move patients to another company.
Read more: www.santafenewmexican.com/news/health_and_science/another-arizona-firm-hired-in-mental-health-shake-up-to/article_ba25faf7-f1f4-5659-8a67-79d0f779c363.html