Tag: Colorado Watch
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Homeless recruits of ‘The Program’ say they were told to sign NDAs amid investigations in Colorado
Several formerly homeless people — each drawn into an Aurora-based enterprise known as “The Program” that promised free housing and cash in return for letting a home-health business administer prescriptions they were given — said they were pressed into signing nondisclosure agreements about the arrangement just days before Medicaid suspended the agency amid investigations into…
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Medicaid suspends agency behind ‘The Program,’ citing ‘credible’ fraud allegations
The agency overseeing Colorado’s federal Medicaid program has suspended an Aurora home-health agency that is the focus of an investigation into an enterprise that lured dozens of homeless people with promises of free housing and cash and reaped tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements. Officials said it has stopped paying Medicaid claims filed…
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‘The program’: Using the homeless to reap Medicaid millions is not new
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Colorado Watch series that looked into how homeless people were offered housing and “donations” from a church in return for becoming clients of a home health care agency that billed Medicaid millions. Read the other stories here. Federal rules prohibit anyone from giving any Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary any remuneration —…
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‘The program’: Medicaid for home health in Colorado is complex setup
Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series. Read about how “the program” exploits Colorado’s homeless using housing and cash and about the group On Going HHC. Read the other articles here. Home health care in Colorado is a complicated business. To provide the service, agencies must be certified and licensed through the Department…
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‘The program’: On Going HHC roots deeply intertwined with others
Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series. Read about how “the program” exploits Colorado’s homeless using housing and cash, and how home health in Colorado is a complex setup. Seska Bell is a licensed practical nurse who has long worked in the home health industry, according to testimony she recently gave in a…
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Assisted-living facility in Colorado faced minimal fine after death of 73-year-old man
On Jan. 6, just after 8:30 p.m., Robert Dutkevitch rolled his wheelchair onto the smoking patio outside The Argyle assisted-living facility in Denver. Minutes later, the 73-year-old suddenly slumped in his chair, his head lolling to the side. He then fell headfirst into some rocks, not moving. Another resident outside went in to report what…
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New rules for private judges in Colorado include discipline oversight, campaign contributions
The Colorado Supreme Court recently determined the state’s private judges — retired jurists appointed to oversee civil cases that rarely get public scrutiny — can now make political contributions freely and without reserve, overruling a prohibition that had been in place for decades. The move comes a year after a Denver Gazette investigation into the…
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Colorado rape cases rarely result in an arrest and prosecution
Authorities say they are especially difficult cases. In Colorado, most go nowhere. Over the past decade, for every 10 reports of rape, there is only one arrest. Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence. Kiersten May remembered a fuzziness overtake her as Saturday night slid into Sunday morning at the remote Colorado mountain campsite…
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State audit: Rape kit backlog reduced but more work needed to hit goal
In the past year, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has slashed the time it takes to process DNA collected in sexual assault cases, but the agency still is far short of its turnaround goal, the state auditor reported on Wednesday. While praising the progress made in the past year, the audit showed that the 190…
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Cherry Creek school board was warned four years ago that superintendent’s marriage could be a problem
The former president of the Cherry Creek School Board warned the panel nearly four years ago – prompted by Denver Gazette stories detailing allegations of a toxic and misogynistic work environment within the district – that employee grievances might not be impartially or fairly addressed because of the marriage between its superintendent and human resources…