17-003320MPI Agency For Health Care Administration vs. Access Mental Solutions, Llc Status: Closed Settled and/or Dismissed prior to entry of RO/FO on Monday, January 7, 2019.

Summary: AHCA failed to prove Respondent was overpaid for Medicaid charges for services provided by certain targeted case managers. Respondent's TCMs had the requisite pre-employment experience.

STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE

ADMINISTRATION ,

Petitioner ,

vs . Case No . 17 - 3320MPI

ACCESS MENTAL SOLUTIONS , LLC ,

Respondent .

_______________________________/

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice , a formal administrative hearing was

conducted before Administrative Law Judge Mary Li Creasy of

the Division of Administrative Hearings ( " DOAH " ) in Tallahassee ,

Florida , on December 11 , 2017 , and January 11 , 2018 .

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: M ichael P . Gennett , Esquire

Akerman LLP

350 East Las Olas Boulevard , Suite 1600

Fort Lauderdale , Florida 33301

For Respondent: Joseph G . Hern , Esquire

Kimberly Murray , Esquire

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive , Mail Stop 3

Tallahassee , Florida 32308

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether certain employees of Respondent , who provided

services to Medicaid recipients , met the prior work experience

requirement to be certified as targeted case managers ( " TCMs " ) . 1/

The nine disputed employees are identified in the Joint

Prehearing Stipulation as Arian Melgarejo , Isis Lopez , Sad a iky

Morejon , Karen Cuellar , Elisa Alonso Knapp , Ilin eis Gonzalez

Torres , Andres Gutierrez , Ana Sarai Llanes , and Berto Mirabal

Lopez .

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Respondent , Access Mental Solutions , LLC ( " Access " ) , is a

provider of mental health targeted case management services

( " TCM services" ) reimbursed under the Florida Medicaid program .

The purpose of TCM services , as described in the Florida Medicaid

Mental Health Targeted Case Management Handbook (the " Handbook " ) ,

is to assist individuals (recipients) in gaining access to needed

medical , social , educationa l , and other services . The primary

goal of TCM services is to optimize the functioning of recipients

who have complex needs by coordinating the provision of quality

treatment and support services in the most efficient and

effective manner . Significant to this appeal , the Handbook

specifies that TCM services do not include " direct therapeutic ,

medical or clinical services . " In order to be cert ified as a TCM

for the adult mental health target group , an individual must have

a bachelor ' s degree from an accre dited university and have a

" minimum of one year of full time or equivalent experience

working with adults experiencing serious mental illness . " It is

this work experience requirement which is the focus of this

appeal .

On January 4 , 2017 , Petitioner, Agen cy for Health Care

Administration (the " Agency " or " AHCA " ) , issued a Final Audit

Report ( " FAR " ) to Access reflecting that AHCA completed a review

of claims for Medicaid reimbursement for dates of service during

the period of January 1 , 2013 , through Decemb er 31 , 2014 .

Pursuant to the FAR , MPI Case ID No . 2016 - 0006148 , AHCA sought

repayment from Access in the amount of $738 , 890 . 52 as an alleged

Medicaid overpayment for claims AHCA alleges in whole or in part

are not covered by Medicaid , together with a fine and the costs

of the audit . A post - FAR review of the claims has reduced the

overpayment alleged by AHCA to $526 , 500 . 11 .

The overpayment is based upon two types of allegedly non -

covered claims: (1) claims for services provided by the d isputed

e mployees whom AHCA determined did not have the requisite work

experience; and (2) claims provided to specific recipients that

AHCA determined were not covered for various reasons . Again , for

purposes of this hearing , only the issue of employee eligibility

was liti gated .

AHCA analyzed a total of 24 of Access ' TCMs and determined

that 11 had the requisite wo rk experience and 13 did not . Of

the 13 , two employees were conceded by Access to be ineligible ,

and another two employees deemed ineligible by AHCA had no claim s

in the audit and , therefore , are not relevant to this proceeding .

Th e nine remaining TCMs are the d isputed e mployees .

On June 9 , 2017 , AHCA forwarded the request to DOAH . On

September 14 , 2017 , Respondent filed its Agreed Motion to

Bifurcate Final Hear ing , reciting that the parties were in

agreement that the best use of judicial and the parties ' own

resources was to first litigate the issue of whether certain

employees of Respondent met the prior work experience requirement

of the Florida Medicaid progr am necessary for one to provide TCM

services . An Order Granting Motion to Bifurcate Hearing was

entered on September 19 , 2017 , and an Amended Notice of Hearing

set ting the matter for December 11 and 12 , 2017 , was filed the

same date .

On December 1 , 2017 , the parties submitted a Joint

Prehearing Stipulation , including a statement of undisputed

facts . To the extent that the stipulated facts are relevant , the

facts are adopted and incorporated herein as necessary .

The hearing commenced as scheduled on Decemb er 11 , 2017 .

AHCA presented the testimony of: AHCA Administrator Robi

Olmstead; Stephanie Gregie ; and the deposition testimony of

Demian Laudisio . AHCA ' s E xhibits 1 through 16 , including

subparts , were admitted . Access presented the testimony of:

Marie ta Garcia de Porto and Denia Lazo - Santalla . Access '

Exhibits 1 through 5 , 7 , and 8 , including subparts , were

admitted .

The four - volume Transcript was filed on January 29 and 31 ,

2018 . Both parties timely submitted their proposed recommended

orders , and e ach has been considered in the preparation of this

Recommended Order .

Except as otherwise indicated , citations to Florida Statutes

or rules of the Florida Administrative Code refer to the versions

in effect during the time in which the alleged overpayment s were

made .

FINDING S OF FACT

1 . This case involves a Medicaid audit by AHCA of Access ,

which relates to dates of service from January 1 , 2013 , through

December 31 , 2014 ( " audit period " ) .

2 . During the audit period , Access was an enrolled Medicaid

provid er and had a valid Medicaid provider agreement with AHCA ,

Medicaid Provider No . 004073400 .

3 . As an enrolled Medicaid provider , Access was subject to

the duly - enacted federal and state statutes , regulations , rules ,

policy guidelines , and Medicaid handbook s incorporated by

reference into rule , which were in effect during the audit

period .

4 . The AHCA Bureau of Medicaid Program Integrity ( " MPI " ) ,

pursuant to its statutory authority , conducted an audit of

Medicaid claims paid to Access for services to Medica id

recipients .

5 . AHCA issued a n F AR dated January 4 , 2017 , MPI Case ID

No . 2016 - 0006148 , alleging that Access was overpaid $738 , 890 . 52

for certain services that in whole or in part are not covered by

Medicaid . In addition , the FAR informed Access that A HCA was

seeking to impose a fine of $147 , 778 . 11 as a sanction for

violation of Fl orida Admin istrative Code R ule 59G - 9 . 0 70(7)(e) and

costs pursuant to section 409 . 913(23) , Florida Statutes. The

overpayment and sanction amounts sought by AHCA were amended

p ost - FAR to $526 , 500 . 11 and $105 , 300 . 02 .

6 . AHCA is designated as the single state agency authorized

to make payments for medical assistance and related services

under Title XIX of the Social Security Act . This program of

medical assistance is designated the " Medicaid Program . " See

§ 409 . 902 , Fla . Stat . AHCA has the responsibility for overseeing

and administering the Medicaid p rogram for the State of Florida ,

pursuant to section 409 . 913 .

7 . The Handbook requires that , in order to be cert ified as

a TCM , an applicant must " have a minimum of one year of full time

or equivalent experience working with adults experiencing serious

mental illness . " The Handbook also requires , via the completion

and retention of Appendix H , that the provider certify that all

of the requirements to be a TCM have been met . Appendix H must

be signed by the p rovider a dministrator , the c ase m anager , and

the c ase m anager ' s s upervisor . There are no AHCA rules or any

agency guidance as to exactly what type of work experience with

thes e individuals is required .

8 . TCM service s include things like coordinating

transportation services , obtaining medical records to give to a

provider or locating a new provider that may be closer to a

recipient ' s home , things that are not clinical in natur e , but

which are beyond a recipient ' s ability to do or his family ' s

ability to assist them with . In fact , Medicaid will not

reimburse mental health TCM services for the provision of direct

therapeutic , medical , or clinical services .

9 . Significantly , the Handbook does not require a provider

to secure or maintain an applicant ' s resume , reference letters ,

or any particular documentation reflecting work history , nor does

it specify who must be contacted to verify prior employment or

indicate references need to be contacted at all . The one year of

experience does not have to come from an applicant ' s most recent

employer , or even one individual employer . AHCA provides no

webinars or training for providers on how to check the work

history of an applicant .

10 . However , AHCA contends that a provider can not , in good

faith , certify a case manager without verifying that the employee

possessed the necessary experie nce with the target population .

AHCA ' s Audit Procedure

1 1 . Robi Olmstead , an Agency Administrator ove r the

Practitioner Unit at the Bureau of MPI , testified regarding her

experience and her supervisory role in the audit of Access .

12 . Ms . Olmstead explained that the instant case against

Access was opened based on " an analysis . . . f rom our data

detectio n unit identifying a high number of services billed and

high utilization by this provider of targeted mental health . . .

ca se management services . "

13 . Ms . Olmstead opened the audit , and assigned the matter

to Stephanie Gregie , a Medicaid p rogram h ealth c are a nalyst , who

obtained a list of claims for 35 random recipients from AHCA ' s

cluster sample program . After the sample was obtained , AHCA then

requested the records of the sample recipients from Access .

14 . Ms . Gregie requested detailed documentation from

Respondent via a Request for Records . The Request for Records

included Document Organizational Guidelines . The guidelines

requested that Access provide , inter alia , employment

applications and/or resumes and evidence of employment background

checks .

15 . Ms . Gregie determined that the employees at issue all

met the regulatory educational requirement . However , she was

concerned that the TCMs in dispute lack ed the prerequisite

experience working with the target population .

16 . Upon review of the r ecords provided by Access ,

Ms . Gregie was disturbed that some job titles listed on the

application s or resume s seemed inconsistent with listed job

duties . According to Ms . Gregie , the p rior work history of the

TCMs was not thoroughly " certified " because t he reference forms

completed by Access ' owner , Marieta Garcia de Porto , did not

identify the date s of employment , the name of the employer which

she contacted , the job title of the individual who verified past

employment , or additional details of the conve rsation . Further ,

t he reference checks generally seemed insufficient t o Ms . Gregie

because of her bel i e f that the best reference check is through a

former employers ' h uman r esources department rather than from

past supervisors or co - workers .

17 . Ms . Greg ie was also suspicious of the veracity of the

reported work histories because several employees had reference

letters signed by different people but which were notarized by

the same individual . Some of the reference letters had similar ,

if not identical , language . Also , many of the employees

purportedly had their references checked the day before or the

day of hiring .

18 . Due to her concerns regarding the certification s

provided by Access , Ms . Gr egie " did something we typically

wouldn ' t normally do , and that is I developed a verification

process in [an] attempt to determine whether the employees were ,

in fact -- did , in fact , have the re q uired experience , and I began

to document my own verifications of the employees ' work

experience with their prior employe rs . " Tr . 48/5 - 13 . Ms . Gregie

created a work sheet to document her attempts at employment

verification for the TCMs . Ms . Gregie requested additional

documentation from Access , which was provided , and she attempted

to verify those documents as well .

Access ' Response

19 . Ms . Garcia , as the owner of Access , is also the

clinical director and the supervisor of its TCMs . Ms . Garcia ,

who is a Cuban immigrant , obtained her degree in psychology in

Cuba a nd her m aster ' s degree in the United States . She is a

licen sed mental health counselor . Ms . Garcia had a five - year

course of study in Cuba , which included a practicum every

semester working with a target ed mental health population and

required a thesis . However , her degree was equated to a

bachelor ' s degree in t he United States . In Cuba , to begin

working as a psychologist , a new graduate does not provide a

resume . They only provide a transcript and complete an

interview .

20 . Ms . Garcia hired the TCMs for Access , whose work

histories are in di s pute . Ms . Garcia explained that the Handbook

does not provide any direction as to how to verify or document

the ve ri fi cation of prior work experience for TCMs . She used the

process used when she was first hired as a TCM in 2005 . She

asked each applicant for a resume or job application and three

letters of reference , which she maintained in their employment

files . Although the Handbook does not require reference letters

or notarization , she chose to ask that these letters be notarized

because when she immigrated to the U nited States , all of her

documents were required to be notarized . Ms . Ga r cia then

contacted the individuals who signed the letters to verify

employment .

21 . The TCMs hired by Ms . Garcia were primarily doctors and

nurses from Cuba . It did not surprise he r that their resumes

looked similar because these people worked together in Cuba and

likely worked on crafting their resumes together because the use

of resumes is not common in the medical profession in Cuba .

Further , Ms . Garcia is not a lawyer or a nota ry , and it did not

cause her any concern that the same notary was used for reference

letters from different employers .

22 . Additionally , three of the TCMs (A r ain Melgarejo ,

Sadaiky Morejon , and Andres Gutierrez) were referred to

Ms . Garcia by Yoandes Fuen tes , a medical doctor who was employed

by Access as a TCM . Dr . Fuentes previously supervised these TCMs

at a medical mission in Ven e zuela as part of a Cuban/Venezu e lan

program that exchanged the services of Cuban medical

professionals for Venezuelan oil . Dr . Fuentes , who was a trusted

Access employee , personally verified the one year or more

employment of these three TCMS with the adult mental health

population in Venezu e la . Both Ms . Morejon and Mr . Gutierrez were

medical doctors in Cuba . Ms . Morejon is also married to

Dr . Fuentes .

23 . Based upon the applications/resumes and reference

letters submitted and verified by Ms . Garcia , she believed the

TCMs all had the requisite work experience and both the TCMs and

she certified this on Appendix H for each o f the nine TCMs in

dispute .

The Experience of the Disputed TCMs

a . Arian Melgarejo

24 . As discussed above , Arian Melgarejo was referred to

Ms . Garcia by Dr . Fuentes . Mr . Melgarejo obtained a doctoral

degree in dental surgery in Cuba in 2007 . He is not licensed in

the United States as a dentist . This makes him subject to the

three - year work requirement applicable to TCM applicants without

a degree in a " human services " field .

25 . Dr . Fuentes sup ervised Mr . Mel g arejo at the Vene zue l a n

medical m ission , C omprehensive Diagnostic Center

( " Comprehensive " ) , from October 2009 through May 2011 .

Comprehensive provided medical and mental health services to poor

people in rural areas of Venezuela .

26 . Denia Lazo - Santalla , who is employed by Access as a TCM

superv isor , a lso testified regarding the work at Comprehensive .

As a medical doctor from Cuba , Ms . Lazo - Santalla also worked at

the mission and is familiar with its workload . Comprehensive has

locations in rural areas all over Venezuela . They are generally

th e sole providers of health care in these areas , so any of the

physicians or , in Mr . Melgarejo ' s case , a dentist , working there

would see a significant population of adults with serious mental

illnesses .

27 . Mr . Me lgarejo ' s employment records include a ref erence

letter from Katia Avila Garcia , who acknowledged working with

Mr . Melgarejo at the mission . Mr . Melgarejo ' s resume also lists

two employment stints at Isidro de Armas Psychiatric Hospital

in Cuba from January 2000 through September 2002 , and from

S eptember 2007 through September 2009 . A printout of Isidro de

Armas Psychiatric Hospital on the InfoMED website shows that its

mission is providing specialized medical care (treatment and

rehabilitation) to chronic psychotic patients . Ms . Lazo - Santalla

t estified that , as a medical doctor in Havana , Cuba , she was

familiar with Isidro de Armas Psychiatric Hospital and that it is

a huge facility that provides all kinds of services , including

dental care , to psychiatric patients .

28 . Ms . Gregie disputes that Mr . Melgarejo meets the three -

year experience requirement based upon her own " verification "

process . According to Ms . Gregie , dentists do not typically

provide mental health services . She contacted the practice

administrator at SOMA Medical Center ("SOM A") , which was

identified on Mr . M el garejo ' s resume as his last place of

employment . Mr . Melgarejo claims to have worked there as a

social worker , " [a]ssisting chronic patients who were diagnosed

with psychiatric illnesses to receive the proper treatment and

link them with outside recommended services . "

29 . According to Ms . Gregie , she was told that SOMA does

not employ social workers and that Mr . Melgarej o never worked

there . However , even discounting the time alleged worked at

SOMA , Mr . Melgarejo's exp erience with adult mental health

patients was verified by Dr . Fuentes . Further , Ms . Gregie made

no effort to independently verify his employment at Comprehensive

or Isidro de Armas Psychiatric Hospital .

b . Sadaiky Morejon

30 . Sadaiky Morejon was a medic al doctor in Cuba .

Ms. Morejon and Dr . Fuentes are husband and wife , and they worked

together in almost every place . This accounts for the similarity

in resumes . According to her resume , Ms . Morejon worked at the

mission in Venezuela , Comprehensive , fro m August 2007 through

May 2011 . As discussed herein , she worked with and was

supervised during part of this time by Dr . Fuentes , who referred

her to Ms . Garcia for employment . A reference letter from

Dr . Fuentes , dated February 22 , 2017 , provides extensi ve detail

of Ms . Morejon ' s work during her time at the mission in

Venezuela .

31 . A ccording to her resume , Ms . Morejon also worked at

Psychiatric Clinic of Cinefuegos in Cuba from April 2007 to

August 2007 . A printout of the profile for Psychiatric Clinic of

Cienfuegos from the InfoMED website states that the hospital has

a mission of providing specialized medical care (treatment and

rehabilitation) for chronic psychotic patients .

32 . Ms . More jon ' s resume lists her most recent employment

at Miami Communit y Health Center . Ms . Gregie was unable to

locate a business by that name . In case Ms . Morejon confused the

name with Miami Behavioral Health Center , now known as Banyan

Health Center ( " Banyan " ) , Ms . Gregie contacted Banyan but was

told that Ms . Morejon w as not employed there . However ,

Ms . Morejon ' s file includes a 2013 reference letter from her

former supervisor , Dr . Ernesto Fernandez , which reflects that she

worked for him at the address she listed as " Miami Community

Health Center . " Ms . Gregie discoun ted this reference because it

did not include the specific dates of employment or a detailed

description of job duties .

33 . Further , Ms . Gregie noted that Ms . Morejon ' s resume is

" highly similar " to that of Dr . Fuentes . She found it improbable

that they would have the same career path with the same

employers . Apparently , she did not account for the fact that

they are husband and wife . Nor did Ms . G r e gie attempt to verify

Ms . Morejon ' s employment in C uba or Venezuela .

c . Berto Mirabal Lope z

34 . Berto M irabal Lopez obtained a bachelor ' s degree in

nursing from the University of Havana , Cuba , in 2009 . Mr . Lopez

worked as a charge nurse in the crisis stabilization unit at

Hospital Miguel Enriquez in Havana , Cuba , from December 2009

through April 2011 . One of his reference letters was from

Marleny Almeida dated October 12 , 2013 . After the FAR was

issued , Ms . Garcia contacted Ms . Almeida and told her that

Mr . Lopez was not approved in the Medicaid audit . Ms . Almeida

authored a second reference letter dated February 14 , 2017 , that

provided more specific detail of the work that Mr . Lopez did as a

nurse in the crisis stabilization unit at Miguel Enriquez

Hospital with the mentally ill .

35 . Miguel Enriquez Hospital is a large hospital in Havana

with multi - spec ialties , including psychiatric and mental health

services . Mr . Lopez ' employment there satisfies th e one - year

work requirement .

3 6 . Mr . Lopez ' resume also state s that he worked as a

me n tal health technician at Citrus Health Network from 2011 until

the ti me of his app lication . However , the Citrus H uman R esources

Department told Ms . Gregie they had no record of him working

there . She also found the three reference letters provided not

credible because they do not specify where these individuals

worked wit h Mr . Lo p ez , are similar in format , and , although

written on different dates , were all signed by the same notary on

the s ame date . Ms . Gregie did not attempt to verify Mr . Lopez '

employment in Cuba .

d . Isis Lopez

37 . Isis Lopez was personally known to M s . Garcia prior to

Ms . Lopez ' hiring because they studied psychology together in

Cuba . They are also family friends . Ms . Lopez ' application

reflects that she worked at Cent ro de Orientacion y Atencion

Ps i cologica ( " COAP " ) at the University of Hav ana , Cub a from 2000

to 2008 . COAP is a center for psychological counseling .

Ms . Garcia was personally familiar with Ms . Lopez ' work

expe rience at COAP .

38 . One of the reference letters is from Alain Abreau ,

verifying that Ms . Lopez worked as a c ounselor under h is

supervision at COAP from January 200 0 through March 2001 . Her

resume indicates she worked there from 2000 to 2008 , and

Mr . Abreau acknowledged that she continued to work there , but no

longer under his supervision .

39 . Ms . Gregie attempted to speak wit h Mr . Abreau but

Mr . Abre a u hung up on her after she announced herself , and

despite immediately calling back , she was only able to leave a

voicemail requesting a return call , which did not occur .

40 . Ms . Garcia knows Mr . Abreau personally because she

used to work with him at Miami Behavioral Health Center (now

called " Banyan " ) when she was employed as a TCM in 2005 . In

February 2017 , Ms . Garcia called Mr . Abreau and told him that

Ms . Lopez was not approved by Medicaid , and that i s why

Mr . Abre a u wrote the detailed reference letter .

41 . Mr . Abreau was told b y Ms . Garcia that he would receive

a call from AHCA to verify , and he did . Mr . Abreau told

Ms . Garcia that the call broke off and , when Mr . Abreau called

the same number back , i t was a general line for AHCA and he did

not know who to ask for . Mr . Abreau did not get a voicemail from

Ms . Gregie .

42 . According to Ms . Lopez ' resume , she worked from

August 2011 until August 2012 as a TCM at Miami Behavioral Health

Center . Ms . Gregie contacted Ana Marie Ro driguez in the Human

Resources Department at Banyan and was told that Ms . Lopez

actually only worked there for two months . Ms . Rodriguez signed

and returned a form confirming this . Ms . Gregie questions why

Ms . Lopez would make a misrepresentation about h er employment at

Banyan if she in fact already had the requisite experience from

her employment in Cuba .

43 . Although it is understandable that these interaction s

with Mr . Abreau and Banyan would raise Ms . Gregie ' s suspicion , it

does not invalidate either Ms . Garcia ' s personal knowledge of

Ms . Lopez ' course of study and her work at COAP , or the letter

provided by Mr . Abreau , verifying more than a year of experience

working with the target population .

e . Elisa Alonso Knapp

44 . Elisa Alonso Knapp has a bac helor ' s degree in

psychology and a master ' s degree in human resource management .

Her course of study in Cuba to obtain her psychology degree would

have included work experience with the target population .

45 . Ms . Knapp ' s resume listed her most recent pla ce of

employment as New Life Staffing , Inc . The resume recites her

work there as including " case management assistance to adults and

elderly with chronic mental disorders . " Staffing agencies

generally do not provide direct mental health services . The

ot her positions on her resume are all human resource positions .

46 . A c cess ' Employment Reference Check dated May 12 , 2014 ,

listed only three names , three telephone numbers , and three

different years of experience . Ms. Knapp listed Oscar Villegas

Flores as a reference . When Ms . Gregie spoke with Mr . Villegas

Flores , he admitted that Ms. Knapp was not a case manager and did

not provide TCM services .

47 . Post - FAR , Access also offered a letter from Reinaldo

Carnota in support of Ms . Knapp ' s experience . The l etter stated

that Ms. Knapp worked as a psychotherapist at Sanatorio Los

Cocos , Santiago de las Vegas , Cuba , from July 1995 to

December 1997 . When Ms . Gregie spoke with Mr . Carnota , he was

unable to remember the name of the place of employment where he

w orked with Ms . Knapp and was " evasive . "

48 . Ms . Knapp also provided reference letters from Emeterio

Santovenia , Lissett Nardo , and Ana - Elvy Hernandez Cordero .

According to Ms . Cordero , Ms . Knapp worked as a volunteer

psychologist from 2009 to 2010 at Doc ent Polyclinic in Havana ,

Cuba , working with elderly patients suffering psychiatric

disorders . Ms . Nardo stated that Ms . Knapp worked as a volunteer

at the Psychology College of Havana University assisting elderly

mental health patients in accessing servi ces .

49 . Ms . Gregie did not contact these three additional

references . Ms . Knapp attested to her one year of required

experience o n the Appendix H form . Although it is clear that

Ms . Knapp did not have recent psychology experience , her training

and lett ers of reference reflect that she had worked with the

target population for at least one year .

f . Karen Cuellar

50 . Karen Cuellar obtained a bachelor ' s degree in

psychology in Cuba . Her resume states that she worked at

Community House in Havana as a men tal health counsel o r from June

2006 throu gh September 2008 . This is supported by a notarized

reference letter from Lissette Gallardo which state s that

Ms . Cuellar worked with adult s with severe mental disorders .

51 . Ms . Cuellar ' s resume lists her most re cent employment

as the Chrysalis Center as a " targeted case manager . " However

when Ms . Gregie contacted Chrysalis Center she was told that they

do not employ case managers , they do not provide mental health

services , and that Ms . Cuellar was never employe d by them .

Although this deception places the validity of Ms . Cuellar ' s

resume in doubt , Ms . Gregie di d no t attempt to verify

Ms . Cuellar ' s employment with Community House which , standing

alone , meets the experience requirement .

g . Ana Sarai Llanes

52 . Ana Sarai Llanes holds a m aster ' s degree in psychology

from Cuba . According to Ms . Garcia , Ms . Llanes ' course of study

required a practicum that m e et s the requirements of working with

the target population . Ms . Garcia also indicated she personally

knew Ms . Llanes .

53 . Ms . Llanes ' resume listed her last " Experience " as

volunteer community work for Sion Baptist Church . The resume

further cited this as case management work , including

" [a]ssisting elderly and adults to access community resources . "

Ms . Gre gie determined Ms . Llanes was ineligible as she was unable

to locate the Sion Baptist Church in her research . She also

testified that in her experience , she never heard of voluntary

case management services or professional mental health services

being pro vided at a church . She further stated that the services

listed on the resume , such as " DCF , LIHEAP , Logisticare , and

housing applications " are the exact services Respondent provides

to all recipients which led her to conclude this experience was

fabricate d .

54 . Post - FAR , Access offered a letter of reference from

Moriama Alfonso . Ms . Garcia personally knows Ms . Alfonso , who

was Ms. Llanes ' supervisor at COAP in Havana .

55 . Ms . Gregie spoke with Ms . Alfonso via an interpreter

and determined the letter was non - credible because Ms . Alfonso

could not remember the name of the employer where she worked with

Ms . Llanes . Ms . Gregie also determined , based upon her own

experience in the mental health field , that Ms . Alfonso ' s

statement that Ms . Llanes provided eig ht hours per day of direct

mental health counseling was not plausible . Ms . Gregie also

assumed that COAP was a " cultural center " and did not provide

mental health services . However , Ms . Gregie did not attempt to

contact COAP or the other references provi ded by Ms . Llanes

regarding her volunteer work with the mentally ill for the

" ZunZun " project in Cuba which would provide more than a year of

working with the targeted population .

h . Il ineis Gonz a lez Torres

56 . Ilineis Gonzalez Torres has a d octor of m ed icine degree

from Cuba . In order to obtain her degree , Mr . Torres would have

completed a six - month work training program in psychiatry .

57 . Ms . Garcia bel i e ved Ms . Torres was qualified based on

her work as a general doctor at Policlinic " Victoria de Giro n " in

Havana , Cuba , from 200 7 to 2010 . " Policlinics " in Cuba are

multidisciplinary facilities that include mental health services .

A web - profile of Policlinic Victoria de Giron from the InfoMed

confirms that mental health services are included .

58 . Ms . Garcia also reached out to Dr . Soto for a letter of

reference . Dr . Soto verified that she worked with Ms . Gonzalez

part - time for a year on a clinical trial regarding patients

taking anti - depressants .

5 9 . Ms . Torres also worked from 2004 to 2006 at the CO AP

center as evidenced by her resume and the reference letter from

Idania Garcia B arrios . This is the same facil ity that Ms. Lopez

worked at .

60 . Ms . Gregie contacted Ms . Torres' most recently listed

employer , Med - Care . Ms . Gregie was told that Ms . T orres worked

there as a medical assistant rather than as a " social worker , "

which is listed on her resume . Ms . Gregie researched Med - Care

on - line and determined it provided medical services to the

general public , not mental health or TCM services . Ms . Gr egie

did not attempt to verify Ms . Torres ' work in Cuba .

i . Andres Gutierrez

6 1 . Andres Gutierrez is a medical doctor from Cuba who was

referred to Access by Dr . Fuentes . His medical training would

have included a six - month work program in psychiatry wi th the

target population .

6 2 . From 2006 through 2012 , Mr . Gutierrez worked at

Comprehensive . According to Ms . Gregie , there is nothing to

verify this employment or that it complies with the one year of

full - time or equivalent experience working with adul ts

experiencing serious mental illness . However , his employment in

Venezuela working with patients with mental illness was verified

by Dr . Fuentes .

6 3 . Dr . DeLeon is listed as Mr . Gutierrez ' supervisor at

Miami Beach Medical Group . He provided a letter of reference for

Mr . Gutierrez . Ms. Gregie contacted the Human Resources

Department at Miami Beach Medical Group and was told that

Mr. Gutierrez was not a "case worker" but rather in Quality

Assurance where he reviewed medical records. Also , the date s of

employment were different than listed on the resume . On this

basis , Ms . Gregie decided Mr . Gutierrez ' resume was fraudulent .

6 4 . Ms . Gregie did not contact Dr . DeL eon or the other

individuals who provided Mr . Gutierrez with a letter of

reference .

CONCLU SIONS OF LAW

6 5 . The Division of Administrative Hearings has

jurisdiction over the parties to and the subject matter of this

proceeding . §§ 120 . 569 and 120 . 57 , Fla . Stat . (201 7 ) .

6 6 . The burden of proof is on Petitioner to prove the

material allegations by a preponderance of the evidence . See

e . g . , S . Med . Servs ., Inc . v . Ag . for Health Care Admin . , 653 So .

2d 440 , 441 (Fla . 3d DCA 1995); Southpointe Pharm . v . Dep ' t of

HRS , 596 So . 2d 106 , 109 (Fla . 1st DCA 1992) .

6 7 . AHCA is authorized to impose sanct ions on a provider ,

including administrative fines . § 409 . 913(16) , Fla . Stat . To

impose an administrative fine , AHCA must establish by clear and

convincing evidence the factual grounds for doing so . Dep ' t of

Banking & Fin ., Div . of Sec . & Investor Prot . v . Osborne Stern &

Co . , 670 So . 2d 932 , 935 (Fla . 1996); Dep ' t of Child . & Fams . v .

Davis Fam . Day Care Home , 160 So . 3d 854 , 857 (Fla . 2015) .

6 8 . Section 409 . 913(11) provides the following:

The agency shall deny payment or require

repayment for inappro priate , medically

unnecessary , or excessive goods or services

from the person furnishing them , the person

under whose supervision they were furnished ,

or the person causing them to be furnished .

6 9 . AHCA contends that any services provided by these nine

TCMs in dispute are " inappropr i ate " because these individuals did

not meet the experience requirement to provide TCM services .

70 . However , AHCA did not prove by a preponderance of the

evidence that these TCMs , who all certified they met the

experience re quirement , and provided back up documentation of the

same , were not qualified .

7 1 . Ms . Gregie ' s inquiries were primarily of the most

recent employers listed in the U nited S tates by the TCMs . By her

own admission , h er " investigation " was out of the ordina ry and

not consistent with any guidelines . Ms . Gregie completely

discounted the personal knowledge that Ms . Garcia and Dr . Fuentes

had of these individuals and their experience . She did not make

any efforts to contact employers in Venezuela and Cuba and made

generalized assumptions that these workers did not work for a

year or its full - time equivalent with the target population ,

contrary to their certifications on Appendix H .

7 2 . Ms . Gregie placed great weight on the fact that many of

the letters of refe rence were notarized by the same individual ,

even though they purported to be written by many different

supervisors . However , Access was not required by AHCA regulation

to obtain notarized letters . Ms . Gregie also found the reference

che c ks conducted by Ms . Garcia to be suspect because often they

were performed the day before , the day of , or the day after

hiring . As explained by Ms . Garcia , it is not unusual for a

small business such as Access to verify references at or near the

time of hiring .

7 3 . Whil e certainly the discrepancies of the recent

employment histories discovered by Ms . Gregie are concerning and

suggest , at best , a pattern of cursory employment checks by

Access , they can also be explained by the passage of time since

the references were che cked by Ms . Garcia , the fact that

Ms . Gregie contacted h uman r esources departments rather than the

supervisors contacted by Ms . Garcia , some of the businesses are

no longer operating , there may have been a language barrier , and

she did not check the employ ment references in C uba or Venezu e la .

7 4 . If AHCA published standards requiring notarized letters

of reference , or any other mandatory form of employment history

and experience verification , the issues identified by M s . Gregie

could serve as a basis to cl aim that payment s to Access for TCM

services were " inappropriate . " However , given the complete lack

of direction to healthcare providers regarding what documentation

is needed to verify the experience requirement for TCMs , there is

no basis here to claim over payments .

7 5 . The Handbook only requires , via the completion and

retention of Appendix H , that the provider certify that all of

the requirements to be a TCM have been met . This was , in fact ,

done for each of the nine workers in dispute . Ms . Garcia ' s

testimony was credible that she verified the workers ' experience

with the target population prior to or at the time of hiring .

Further , their resumes and letters of reference support the

conclusion that at the time of application , each TCM had " a

minimum of one year of full time or equivalent experience working

with adults experiencing serious mental illness . "

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of

Law , it is RECOMMENDED that the Agency for Health Care

Administration ent er a final order incorporating the terms of

this Recommended Order as follows:

1 . All of the d isputed e mployees shall be allowed , and no

Medicaid overpayments shall be based on their failure to have the

requisite work experience .

2 . Petitioner will not apply an administrative sanction

against Respondent .

3 . Because AHCA is not the prevailing party in this action ,

it shall not be entitled to recover any of its costs .

DONE AND ENTERED this 11th day of April , 2018 , in

Tallahassee , Leon County , Florida .

S

MARY LI CREASY

Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hearings

The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee , Florida 32399 - 3060

(850) 488 - 9675

Fax Filing (850) 921 - 6847

www . doah . state . fl . us

Filed with the Clerk of the

Division of Administrative Hearings

this 11th day of April , 2018 .

ENDNOTE

1/ By Order dated September 19 , 2017 , on Respondent ' s Agreed

Motion to Bifurcate Final Hearing , the issue for this final

hearing is limited to the work exp erience of case managers which

will be determinative of approximately 265 Medicaid claims at

issue . The second issue p resented by the Administrative

C omplaint relates to various documentation issues such as medical

necessity , missing documentation , non - bi llable activity and

recipient eligibility . There are approximately 85 claims that

are controlled by this issue . The parties have agreed to wait

until the issuance of this Recommended Order to determine the

necessity of a second final hearing on the remai ning issues and

claims .

COPIES FURNISHED:

Michael P . Gennett , Esquire

Akerman LLP

350 East Las Olas Boulevard , Suite 1600

Fort Lauderdale , Florida 33301

(eServed)

Joseph G . Hern , Esquire

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive, Mail St op 3

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

(eServed)

Kimberly Murray, Esquire

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive , Mail Stop 3

Tallahassee , Florida 32308

(eServed)

Martin R . Dix , Esquire

Akerman LLP

106 East College Avenue , Suite 1200

Tallahass ee , Florida 32301

(eServed)

Shena L . Grantham , Esquire

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive , Mail Stop 3

Tallahassee , Florida 32308

(eServed)

Richard J. Shoop, Agency Clerk

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive, Mail Stop 3

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

(eServed)

Stefan Grow, General Counsel

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive, Mail Stop 3

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

(eServed)

Justin Senior, Secretary

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive, Mail Stop 1

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

(eServed)

Thomas M. Hoeler, Esquire

Agency for Health Care Administration

2727 Mahan Drive, Mail Stop 3

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

(eServed)

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within

15 days from the date of this Recommended Order . Any exceptions

to this Recommended Order should be filed with AHCA that will

issue the Final Order in this case .