Columbia woman arrested for cheating Medicaid program
A Columbia woman has been arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud and filing or maintaining false public records, announced the Louisiana Attorney General’s Criminal Division.Caroline Spillers Hall, 43, of 321 Coop Road, surrendered to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigators on Friday and was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of Medicaid fraud and one count of filing or maintaining false public records. Hall, a personal care attendant, submitted timesheets stating that she provided in-home caregiver services, such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing, to a Medicaid patient on the same dates and times the patient was actually hospitalized. If convicted, Hall could face up to 10 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.
Personal care attendants are hired by Medicaid providers to care for physically handicapped Medicaid recipients. The personal care attendants keep service logs and records of hours worked with each client and submit the hours to the Medicaid provider for payment. In turn, the Medicaid provider submits the hours to the Medicaid program for payment of services rendered.
To report suspected Medicaid fraud, please contact the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at 888-799-6885.
