CleanSlate Agrees To Pay $4.5M To MassHealth And Medicare In Settlement
CleanSlate, a national addiction treatment center chain with an office in Falmouth, has agreed to pay a total of $4.5 million to MassHealth and Medicare to resolve allegations of false claims and illegal practices of self-referral.
Attorney General Maura Healey’s office worked with the US Attorney’s office to negotiate the settlement with CleanSlate and its former owner, Dr. Amanda L. Wilson, which brings to an end lawsuits from both the Attorney General’s office and a 2017 whistleblower complaint alleging violations of the False Claims Act and federal and state self-referral statutes in respect to CleanSlate’s Massachusetts patients.
A 2020 lawsuit brought by the Attorney General’s office alleged that CleanSlate and Dr. Wilson submitted millions of dollars in false claims to the state’s Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, for urine drug tests that were not medically necessary and led to false claim submissions.
The lawsuit also alleged that the company violated both federal and state self-referral laws by referring laboratory work to its own facilities in Holyoke, also owned by Dr. Wilson.
It was further alleged that between the years of 2011 and 2016, CleanSlate and Dr. Wilson engaged in the backdating of prescriptions for suboxone, an anti-addiction medication. According to a statement from the Attorney General’s office, anti-addiction medication was being prescribed by mid-level clinicians before being reviewed by a physician. The physician would review the patient’s visit notes at a later date, after the prescription had been picked up, and backdate the prescription to the office visit dates. Similar allegations regarding Medicare were previously brought against CleanSlate, resulting in a 2016 settlement with the US Attorney’s Office.
“As we face a worsening opioid crisis in Massachusetts, it’s important that treatment centers follow the rules and not cut corners to increase their bottom line,” Ms. Healey said. “Our resolution with CleanSlate will bring millions of dollars back to the state and implement the oversight needed to protect patients and prevent these violations from happening again.”
CleanSlate and Dr. Wilson will pay $3.2 million to MassHealth, per the terms of the settlement with the Attorney General’s office. Additionally, CleanSlate will be audited annually and have those reports submitted to the Attorney General’s office as part of an independent compliance program.
This is the first civil settlement under Massachusetts anti-self-referral law, which was proposed and enacted by the Attorney General’s office in 2014.
Under the terms of the agreement with the US Attorney’s office, CleanSlate and Dr. Wilson agreed to pay an additional $1.3 million to settle all claims involving Massachusetts Medicare members.
Dr. Wilson also agreed to make a separate payment of $8,000 to the Western Mass Training Consortium, an independent nonprofit organization that provides support to organizations that facilitate addiction recovery.
Despite the settlement, CleanSlate has denied any wrongdoing or illegal practices.
“We continue to reject the allegations brought by the government,” Cleanslate CEO Greg Marotta said in a statement on December 30. “We have chosen to settle this case due to the severe economic impact a prolonged legal battle would have had on the thousands of individuals and families we serve. We have also reached an agreement in principle to settle all claims brought by a former employee which will end all litigation against the company related to these matters and will include no admission of wrongdoing or liability.”
CleanSlate operates 18 clinics in Massachusetts, including one in Homeport on Gifford Street. It is unknown if the clinic in Falmouth was involved.