![]() ![]() The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Biebel will prosecute.Īn indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorneys Julie F. “We are committed to working with our federal, state, and local partners to hold individuals who seek to take advantage of these programs for their own benefit fully accountable for their actions.” ![]() “One of the primary reasons the Department of Justice focuses on prosecuting health care fraud is to ensure public funds are used to help the people they are designed to help, and not to unfairly enrich others at the expense of the public and those who desperately need these services,” said U.S. If convicted, Barnes faces a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for each count of Aggravated Identity Theft, up to twenty years in prison for each count of Health Care Fraud, up to ten years in prison for each count of Anti-Kickback Statute violations and Money Laundering, and up to five years in prison for each count of False Statements and Obstruction. § 1957, and Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Mountain-Chart Date Compare with Compare with up to 5 Stocks Is UnitedHealth stock a Buy, Sell or Hold UnitedHealth stock has received a consensus rating of buy. § 1518, Money Laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b, Obstruction of a Healthcare Fraud Investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1035, violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. The indictment charges Barnes with multiple counts of Health Care Fraud and False Statements Relating to Health Care Matters, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Barnes also allegedly submitted claims for services she contended were provided to her clients before she or anyone from her agency had ever met the client. The indictment alleges that Barnes offered and provided kickbacks to induce women to sign up for prenatal care coordination services with Here For You, and then allegedly submitted millions of dollars of fraudulent claims for services never actually provided to those women. Specifically, PNCC services are supposed to ensure that women at high risk are identified as early as possible in their pregnancies, receive psychosocial support, prenatal care services, and health and nutrition education, and are referred to available community services that they need to help them achieve positive birth and parenting outcomes. PNCC agencies are reimbursed by Medicaid when they provide services intended to address Wisconsin’s historically high rate of infant mortality among at-risk populations. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on June 21, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Markita Barnes (age: 30) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for perpetrating a $2.3 million health care fraud and kickback scheme that involved Barnes lying about having provided prenatal care coordination (PNCC) services and childcare coordination services to at-risk and low-income pregnant women and new mothers in Milwaukee.Īccording to the indictment, from October 2020 through November 2021, Barnes owned Here For You, which was a PNCC agency operating in Milwaukee. ![]() Elevance Health slid 7% and CVS Health, which owns Aetna, declined 6%.Gregory J. Humana, which also has a large business caring for Medicare members, slumped 13.5%. UnitedHealth, which has a market cap of $424 billion, fell 7%. The stocks of health insurance companies tumbled on Wednesday following the warning. The insurer is incorporating this higher level of demand into the prices it sets for plans it offers next year in the private market for health insurance for older Americans, known as Medicare Advantage. The "strong" level of care older Americans are seeking out suggests that people are getting more comfortable getting procedures they put off during the pandemic, the UnitedHealth Group executive said. An insurance exec warned of higher medical costs as Americans start to get more elective procedures. UnitedHealth Group expects to spend more of its members' premiums on medical care in the second quarter, driven by a rise in outpatient care for Americans 65 and older in Medicare plans, CFO John Rex said Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs investor conference. Older Americans are starting to get more procedures like hip and knee surgeries, and it's driving up how much one of the biggest US health insurers is spending on medical care. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. ![]()
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