Submitted information
COLUMBUS Ohio has sued health-care giant Centene Corp. for an elaborate scheme to maximize company profits at the expense of the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) and the state of Ohio, Attorney General Dave Yost announced late last week.
Dave Yost
The lawsuit alleges that Centene subsidiary Buckeye Health Plan utilized a web of subcontractors for the provision of pharmacy benefits in order to misrepresent pharmacy costs, resulting in millions of dollars of overpayments by ODM.
“Corporate greed has led Centene and its wholly owned subsidiaries to fleece taxpayers out of millions. This conspiracy to obtain Medicaid payments through deceptive means stops now,” Attorney General Yost said. “My office has worked tirelessly to untangle this complex scheme, and we are confident that Centene and its affiliates have materially breached their obligations both to the Department of Medicaid and the state of Ohio.”
VW independent/submitted information
COLUMBUS Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted provided the following updates Thursday on Ohio’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This graph shows COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in Ohio over the past two weeks.
ODH graphic
Nursing home visitation
Governor DeWine discussed the new federal regulations for nursing home visitation, as well as Ohio’s Vaccine Maintenance Program. The visitation guidelines, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicate visitation should be happening in nursing homes. There are a few specific exceptions that would limit visitation, such as outbreaks in the facility or an extreme number of cases in the community. Full information on the federal nursing home visitation guidance is available at cms.gov.
Submitted information
COLUMBUS State Rep. Craig S. Riedel (R-Defiance) on Wednesday supported legislation that repeals the nuclear subsidy created by House Bill 6 from the 133rd General Assembly and establishes legislative oversight over orders issued during a state of emergency.
This legislation, known as Senate Bill 22, provides the legislature the ability to oversee orders issued by any department under the administration in response to public health emergencies. Orders may be extended or rescinded by the General Assembly.
“I’ve heard from my constituents loud and clear that they do not want unchecked power from one branch of government during a pandemic,” said Rep. Riedel. “This is a long overdue step that restores checks and balances to protect the functioning of our government.”