One of the biggest hospital chains in the USA has succumbed to circumstances and agreed to pay $20 million to settle an investigation carried out by the Justice Department of the USA. The feds are accusing the company of wrongdoing in its psychiatric hospitals. According to the Justice Department, the company is defrauding taxpayer-funded medical insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
According to the prosecutors, Acadia kept people in their facility longer than needed and admitted people who didn’t have to be in psychiatric care, all to cash out their government medicare plans. On top of that, it was reported that the hospitals couldn’t provide apt services to their patients once admitted. Moreover, the staff they had wasn’t sufficient for the number of patients, which resulted in assaults and suicides.
The company has finally settled with the federal government after three former employees blew the whistle. Jamie Clark Thompson, Brian Snyder, and another unnamed employee shared their experiences with the department and the press, stating that even after they told upper management about the things happening, they were told to “Calm Down.”
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Now, along with the Justice Department, the company has also agreed to pay settlements to the governments of four states, including Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada. However, Tim Blair, the company spokesperson stated that resolving the investigation “allows us to ensure our focus remains on providing quality care to our patients and their families.”
In light of this case, people have claimed that this problem is not only present in a few hospitals of Acadia but “It’s by design.” As a result, the authorities are looking to launch a full-scale investigation against the hospital chain.
