August 23, 2016 - 3:31 PM
MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Latest on A Burlington-based chain of drug-testing labs being investigated for alleged Medicaid fraud (all times local):
5:40 p.m.
The Burlington-based chain of drug-testing labs at the centre of a state Medicaid fraud investigation says there was no intentional or knowing overbilling of Vermont Medicaid.
Instead, Burlington Labs says a coding error may have resulted in overbilling of the state and federal Medicaid program.
A lawyer for an investment group looking to take over the financially troubled Burlington Labs says the company is expected to have to pay the state about $6.5 million in a settlement of claims brought by the attorney general's office.
Jason Turner of that office's Medicaid fraud unit confirms the case is a fraud investigation. He says details will be released when a settlement is reached.
The investment group's lawyer, Elizabeth Wohl, says Burlington Labs provides drug-testing services desperately needed to address Vermont's opiate problem.
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11 a.m.
A Burlington-based chain of drug-testing labs that have been a linchpin in Vermont's opiate addiction struggle is being targeted in what's being described as the largest Medicaid fraud case in Vermont history.
The case being brought by the attorney general's office is putting Burlington Labs under such severe financial strain that state regulators are being asked to grant emergency approval to a group looking to buy and rescue the business.
Jason Turner, head of that office's Medicaid Fraud Unit, tells The Associated Press the settlement isn't finalized. But he says a $6.5 million Medicaid fraud settlement described in a letter from the rescue group's lawyer to the Green Mountain Care Board would be the largest in the state's history.
Burlington Labs did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016