KCK home health provider indicted on fraud charges

A Kansas City, Kan., home health attendant was indicted Wednesday in a federal case based on fraudulent Medicaid billing practices involving more than $587,000.

Doris Betts, 54, was charged with six counts of health care fraud. The crimes occurred as Betts claimed to provide home health services – including bathing, house cleaning, meal preparation and medication monitoring – for seven Medicaid patients.

The indictment alleges that since 2008, Betts had logged more than 750 workdays that each exceeded 24 hours, claiming as many as 39.5 hours in a day. It also alleges that she claimed to:

• be with two or more clients at the same time.

• provide services when clients actually were in the hospital.

• provide services when she was at her own medical appointments.

• provide services at different locations without any travel time between them.

She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.

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