A Philadelphia-based mental health clinic and its psychiatrist owner agreed to pay $900,000 to settle allegations that they fraudulently billed Medicaid for medication management appointments that were too short to comply with applicable regulations, according to a Jan. 27 Justice Department news release.
Ghodrat Pirooz Sholevar, MD, owned Nueva Vida Multicultural/Multilingual Behavioral Health which operated three mental health clinics in Philadelphia, according to a Jan. 27 Justice Department news release.
The Justice Department alleged that from Jan. 15, 2009, through March 31, 2017, the company regularly submitted false bills for medication management appointments performed by Dr. Sholevar because the appointments were not at least 15 minutes long and were likely substantially shorter. The company also regularly billed for more medication management appointments than could be completed in a single workday if each appointment met the required length.
Nueva Vida ceased operating mental health clinics in 2018, according to the release.