HB 2098 -- Medicaid Fraud and Abuse

Sponsor:  Harris (23)

This bill changes the laws regarding the investigation of fraud
and abuse in Missouri's Medicaid Program.  The bill changes the
definition of "abuse" to include the financial exploitation by
any person, firm, or corporation and prohibits any person from
intentionally failing to cooperate with, obstructing, or making a
false statement or misrepresentation of a material fact during a
Medicaid fraud investigation.  Any violation will be a class A
misdemeanor, and subsequent violations will be a class D felony.

The bill also changes the laws regarding the imposition of
penalties for violations by any residential care facility I or
II, immediate care facility, or skilled nursing facility.  The
bill:

(1)  Adds class II violations to the list of civil penalties
imposed by the Department of Health and Senior Services for which
the liability for the penalty will be incurred immediately upon
the imposition;

(2)  Removes class II violations from the list of civil penalties
for which penalties will only be incurred if the violation
remains uncorrected and not in accordance with the accepted plan
of correction at the time of reinspection; and

(3)  Removes class II violations from the list of violations for
which the department cannot impose a fine for self-reporting
violations, if the violation is corrected within a specified
period of time and there is no reoccurrence of the particular
violation for 12 months following the date of self-reporting.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated November 29, 2006 at 9:45 am