Jackson Free Press

On Wednesday, Medicaid Director Bob Robinson accused Attorney General Jim Hood of failing to investigate an alleged $24 million case of Medicaid fraud. Today, Hood counter-accused the director of defending Tri-Lakes Medical Center, the same provider that Robinson claims Hood refuses to investigate.

Tri-Lakes, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, allegedly misspent $24 million from Medicaid, according to Hood, who said he is investigating the allegations.

Robinson was sketchy on the details involving the alleged fraud, though he told lawmakers at a Joint Legislative Budget Committee this week that Hood refused to prosecute the case. Robinson would not reveal the name of the facility at the time of the meeting, and Medicaid spokesman Francis Rullan said Friday that the agency could not reveal the name of the provider or comment on the status of Robinson's allegations if no complaint against the service provider has been filed.

Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, said he believed the facility under investigation to be Tri-Lakes, however, and Hood confirmed the civil investigation today to the Jackson Free Press, saying his office was "going to pursue these doctors to hell and back in civil actions."

Tri-Lakes did not immediately return calls on Friday, though Holland said he had learned that hospital leadership was blaming suspicions of fraud on faulty state audit reports.

Hood said the state needed new laws to force the Department of Medicaid to properly audit state hospitals with more frequency.

"Bob Robinson ought to resign because he's not properly conducting his audits," Hood told the JFP. "He's got this fleet of auditors in his office that's supposed to be auditing these facilities, but he let a small hospital get $24 million ahead of the state without proper auditing. If that little hospital can get that far ahead of us, we need to be auditing it monthly. I mean, $24 million is a scandal of beef plant proportions."

Robinson has not always been the hospitals' critic, however. An objection filed by Hood's office during the course of Tri-Lakes' bankruptcy revealed that Robinson—while quick to allege Hood's unwillingness to pursue an investigation—had sought to give the facility an additional $1.7 million during the course of its bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year.

"I filed an objection to (Robinson's decision) and said it was a donation," Hood said.

"'You're giving away state money,' I told him, which is a violation of the Constitution. Robinson takes the position opposite to that, and the bankruptcy judge makes us pay an additional $900,000 to that hospital, even though they may have gotten away with $24 million already. If somebody owes you $24 million, you shouldn't be giving them more money."