Dayton Daily News | Chris Stewart
A home health provider based in Washington Twp. owes the state nearly $4 million after state auditors unearthed widespread noncompliance among staff who worked directly with patients, according to the Ohio auditor.
But an attorney representing Healing Touch Health Care Ltd. said Tuesday the state used “complicated math” to show millions of dollars in Medicaid overpayments from a small number of billing errors and imperfect paperwork.
“There are some cases where there is no service provided at all, but that’s not the case here,” said Laura Perkovic, a Westerville attorney. “That’s not what the audit shows. The audit shows form over substance errors. There is a mathematical formula that was used to extrapolate a few thousand dollars worth of billing errors into a few million.”
Healing Touch Health Care Ltd. claimed $8.5 million in Medicaid reimbursement from the state from 2013 through 2015, but state auditors determined $3.7 million of that amount was an overpayment – the second largest amount in a Medicaid examination since 2011.
The office found 783 errors during testing of 1,500 services administered by the company during the review period. With interest, the provider owes the state over $3.9 million, according to the auditor.