From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   Las Cruces behavioral health-care provider sues state over Medicaid freeze   
   Southwest Counseling in Las Cruces among 15 firms investigated by state for   
   alleged Medicaid fraud   
      
   By James Staley   
      
   jstaley@lcsun-news.com @auguststaley on Twitter   
      
   POSTED:   10/24/2014 06:12:44 PM MDT   
      
   LAS CRUCES >> A Las Cruces-based provider forced to close last year after the   
   state froze Medicaid funding during a controversial, statewide behavioral   
   health-care investigation filed a lawsuit Friday against the New Mexico Human   
   Services Department.   
      
   In its suit, Southwest Counseling Center Inc. alleges HSD violated the   
   nonprofit's due process rights when it indefinitely suspended Medicaid   
   payments in June 2013 without a hearing. The lawsuit, filed in Santa Fe's 1st   
   Judicial District, also accuses    
   HSD of violating open records laws when it came to releasing documents about   
   the investigation.   
      
   Southwest Counseling also names the state Attorney General's Office in the   
   lawsuit, stating its lengthy investigation -- which it estimates will take   
   more than six years -- also violates due process.   
      
   Southwest Counseling is seeking a hearing regarding HSD's payment suspension,   
   plus unspecified damages, costs, and attorney fees related to HSD's alleged   
   violations, according to the lawsuit.   
      
   HSD spokesman said his department had not been served with the lawsuit as of   
   Friday afternoon and that he hasn't seen it.   
      
   "It's tough for me to comment without looking at the allegations," he said,   
   adding that HSD has complied with all records requests, as required by state   
   law.   
      
   In the summer of 2013, citing suspicion of over-billing and fraud, HSD cut   
   Medicaid funding to Southwest Counseling and 14 other providers around New   
   Mexico.   
      
   Opening its doors in 1963, Southwest Counseling had served thousands of   
   low-income residents dealing with depression and drug abuse, a group   
   considered to be among the community's most vulnerable, mental health   
   professionals have said.   
      
   Southwest Counseling, like most of the other targeted providers, operated   
   under a contract with HSD, which distributed money from Medicaid, a   
   state-federal insurance program for low income residents. Without that funding   
   -- more than $1.25 million, the    
   lawsuit states -- Southwest Counseling had to cease operations. It still   
   exists, simply as a corporation.   
      
   The state arranged for Arizona-based providers to take over health-care   
   services.   
      
   HSD's polarizing decision came after it ordered an audit of the 15 providers   
   though an independent, Boston-based firm, looking, in part, for "credible   
   allegations of fraud." The lawsuit notes that the auditing firm, Public   
   Consulting Group, failed all 15    
   health-care providers, but did not find "credible allegations of fraud, nor   
   any significant concerns related to consumer safety."   
      
   One of the providers, The Counseling Center of Alamogordo, has been cleared by   
   the AG's Office.   
      
   The lawsuit alleges that HSD failed to follow its own internal policies   
   related to Medicaid fraud investigations, and had improperly hidden records   
   related to the allegations against Southwest Counseling.   
      
   Southwest Counseling's attorney, Bryan J. Davis of Albuquerque, could not be   
   reached Friday for comment.   
      
   This summer, Santa Fe's Easter Seals El Mirador also sued HSD, saying the   
   state acted in bad faith by withholding Medicaid money and asking the AG's   
   Office to reopen its investigation after the provider was cleared.   
      
   News organizations, including the Sun-News and New Mexico in Depth, sued the   
   state alleging HSD violated open records law by not releasing the full PGC   
   audit. But 3rd Judicial District Judge Douglas Driggers ruled HSD could keep   
   much of audit secret,    
   following a law enforcement exception, to protect the investigation. The   
   Sun-News and New Mexico in Depth are appealing the decision.   
      
      
   http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_26794605/las-cruces   
   behavioral-health-care-provider-sues-state   
      
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