August 1, 2022 – Urban CNY

News

Attorney General James Announces Indictment of Long Island Physician for Defrauding Medicaid and Subjecting Patients to Invasive and Medically Unnecessary Testing

by Urban CNY News
August 1, 2022

Payam Toobian, M.D., Allegedly Paid Kickbacks to Physicians for Patient Referrals and Subjected Medicaid Patients to Unnecessary Radiological Tests New York – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the indictment of Payam Toobian, M.D., 52, of Kings Point, New York, and his company, America’s Imaging Center, Inc. (America’s Imaging), for defrauding Medicaid by forcing patients to get unnecessary and invasive medical tests. For years, Toobian allegedly ran a kickback scheme where he bribed other physicians for patient referrals, subjected some of those patients to tests and procedures that they did not need, and then caused false claims to be submitted to Medicaid for those tests. Toobian, through his corporation America’s Imaging, operated Empire Imaging, a diagnostic radiology center in Forest Hills, Queens. Toobian was charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Health Care Fraud in the Third Degree, eight counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, and three counts of violating the Social Services Law statute prohibiting the payment of kickbacks related to the provision of services under the state’s Medicaid program, all felony charges. “New Yorkers should be able to trust that their doctors are working to heal them, not profit off of their suffering,” said Attorney General James. “Bribery and kickback schemes corrupt our healthcare system and make it impossible for patients to receive the care that they need. The idea that a licensed physician would subject patients to unnecessary testing to line their pockets is unconscionable, and my office will continue to go after medical providers that jeopardize the health and safety of New Yorkers.” From January 2006 to August 2017, Toobian allegedly gave gift cards, cash, and checks totaling more than $547,000 to three physicians in exchange for the physicians’ referral of patients (including Medicaid beneficiaries) to Empire Imaging. Empire Imaging received more than $1 million in paid claims relating to patient referrals from those physicians. In addition to this kickback scheme, from January 2014 to August 2017, Toobian allegedly directed his employees at Empire Imaging to add additional, unordered radiological procedures to orders submitted by referring physicians to increase the amount of money Empire Imaging would receive from Medicaid. Toobian allegedly defrauded Medicaid, and subjected patients to medically unnecessary and often invasive radiological testing without the direction, consent, or approval of the referring physicians responsible for the underlying care of those patients. The additional, unnecessary tests included MRIs of the brain, cervical spine, and lumbar spine, all “with contrast,” which required subjecting patients to unnecessary and invasive injections. Toobian then directed his staff to submit claims for payment to Medicaid for those medically unnecessary tests. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is also, in a separate civil lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, seeking damages from Toobian and America’s Imaging, among other defendants, for violating the Federal and New York State False Claims Act and for other civil causes of action. The OAG would like to thank the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, New York State Department of Health, and Medicaid MCOs, HealthFirst, MetroPlusHealth, and United Healthcare, for their cooperation and valuable assistance throughout the investigation. MFCU’s investigation was led by Detectives Thomas Bolen, Robert Hatt, Dawn Scandaliato, and Michael McNally, with the assistance of Supervising Detective Ronald Lynch, Deputy Chief Kenneth Morgan, and Deputy Chief William Falk. The underlying financial analysis was completed by Senior Auditor-Investigator Deowattie Persaud and Auditor-Investigator Khristian Diaz, with assistance from Regional Chief Auditor Stacey Millis. The criminal case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorneys General Peter Zadek and Robert Trudell under the supervision of Thom O’Hanlon, Chief of MFCU Criminal Investigations–Downstate. The civil case is being handled by Special Assistant Attorney General Jared Goldman with assistance from Konrad Payne, Deputy Chief of the MFCU Civil Enforcement Division and MFCU Civil Enforcement Division Chief Alee Scott. The MFCU is led by Director Amy Held and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Paul J. Mahoney. The Division for Criminal Justice is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. The charges filed in this case are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. New York MFCU’s total funding for federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 is $59,918,216. Of that total, 75 percent, or $44,938,664, is awarded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $14,979,552 for FY 2022, is funded by New York state. Reporting Medicaid Provider Fraud: MFCU defends the public by addressing Medicaid provider fraud and protecting nursing home residents from abuse and neglect. If an individual believes they have information about Medicaid provider fraud or about an incident of abuse or neglect of a nursing home resident, they can file a confidential complaint online or call the MFCU hotline at (800) 771-7755. If the situation is an emergency, please call 911.

The Hall Monitor

Syracuse Inner Harbor Aquarium Proposal: Take the Suburban Money and Run

by Ken Jackson
August 1, 2022

As I let the idea of an aquarium rattle around in my head, I began to wonder about the cost, the logic of the proposal and if it will be a drain on Onondaga County taxpayers. Or as critics point out, there are so many pressing human-service needs, why not invest there? First, the overwhelmingly Republican Onondaga County Legislature would never agree to allocating direct payments to families with children. Then I started thinking like a resident of an impoverished city that has to negotiate Sales Tax distribution with Onondaga County. The amount of sales tax revenue received by the city of Syracuse from Onondaga County is negotiated periodically. During that time there’s collective breath holding of city leaders, hoping that our share isn’t decreased. The largest share of revenue from retail is collected from our wealthier suburban neighbors. Some of those same “neighbors” dislike Syracuse, and don’t want a dime of their money going into what some describe as an unlivable city. Destiny USA despite the prayers of some suburban dwellers, isn’t dead and the city of Syracuse is experiencing an unprecedented surge in economic activity. I then realized that any funds invested in the city of Syracuse is a win-win for residents of Syracuse. As the city rebuilds, so will our tax base. But for now, we have to consider every dime and dollar coming from Onondaga County coffers being spent here, in Syracuse. The 84-million-dollar aquarium will be built in Syracuse. Think of it. How many Onondaga County dollars are invested in Syracuse? And if this aquarium is built, the businesses that will want to be nearby will be Syracuse businesses, paying both city and county taxes. I’ve surmised that surplus funds of Onondaga County would never be invested in human capital, it’s something that this county will not do as it’s beyond the responsibilities of Medicaid and other mandated expenses. The investments negotiated for the city’s Southside business corridor, additional funding of housing initiatives, in addition to other concessions being requested by Onondaga County Legislator Garland have convinced me to support this project. We built a highway and 60,000 people got up and moved. Now, the highway is coming down, but not the anti city of Syracuse attitudes that flourish in the ‘burbs. Therefore, take the 84 million dollars of mostly suburban funds and spend it on a world class Syracuse Inner Harbor Aquarium. Take the money and run.

Cover Stories News

The Interview: Part 1- Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon and the Inner Harbor Aquarium Proposal

by Urban CNY News
August 1, 2022

I took the opportunity to speak with Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon about the proposed Aquarium at Syracuse’s Inner Harbor. The 84-million-dollar price tag for the project has been a conversation starter, to say the least. The proposal has been controversial from the start as advocates for the poor have stated their opposition to the Aquarium. Along with those that simply say, “we don’t need an aquarium”. It’s been a tough sell for Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, he’s had to fend off critics that have suggested replicating the Federal Governments Child Tax Credit and give money directly to families with children. According to critics, there are human service needs that should come first. Onondaga County 7th District Legislator Mary Kuhn held a protest event where about 20 people gathered to listen to reasons for not supporting the proposal and their suggestions for distributing the surplus cash. Some members of the Democratic Caucus have complained that they don’t have enough information and aren’t in favor of the aquarium. Onondaga County Legislator Charles Garland appears to have negotiated a deal the County Executive in exchange for his support. Garland’s argument is about the numbers. The republicans have their expansive majority, according to Garland, “they could flip, and our community is left with nothing”. (for mobile devices click here Urban CNY News Youtube Channel) The Interview urbancny.com and Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon In an effort to obtain more information about the aquarium proposal, I sat down with Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon. The interview is being edited into 3 segments. Part 1 is about the proposed Aquarium in Syracuse’s Inner Harbor. Other topics discussed include American Rescue Plan spending; how do we include inner city residents in suburban job creation? And McMahon’s response to the alternative spending “wish list” released by opponents of the plan. urbancny.com: OK, we’re speaking with County Executive J. Ryan McMahon and in this interview, we’re going to talk about a variety of things. We’re going to start out with a topic that’s on many people’s mind(s), would be the aquarium project. So, could you explain the aquarium project so that people will know from you directly, what is this about? Ryan McMahon: “One of the things we do is entertainment infrastructure. We run the zoo, we are in charge of the ballpark for the Syracuse Mets, we are in charge of the War Memorial for the Syracuse Crunch, we have the amphitheater which provides entertainment infrastructure on the lake. We are in charge of the Convention Center which brings thousands and thousands of visitors to downtown. So, in 2019 when I got this job, the zoo came to me with an idea about an aquarium project, the friends of the zoo. And we looked at it and we loved it as an expansion on the zoo. At the time we didn’t have the money. Because if you have to borrow the type of money for that, you’re never going to really make enough money to pay the bonds. So Fast forward, we enter into 2020 the global pandemic and we have to make very difficult decisions budgetary wise and really estimate very conservative revenue growth. And what happened was in 2020, we ended up producing a large surplus a $30 million surplus, and we prepared for the worst in 2021 and produced an even larger surplus. For a unique moment in time, when we’re looking at how do we come out of the pandemic and what are some opportunities to come out stronger. Bring more visitors into county [government] because our largest revenue is sales tax. It’s not property tax, it’s sales tax. We then looked at the aquarium project and we said we have the ability to pay cash. So, what we did next, is we hired the market expert in the field to tell us if it would work, is it feasible. Is this idea possible to have a successful aquarium here that will draw thousands of visitors, that will be here as a magnet for STEAM and STEM education for our young kids. But also, research and development opportunities for our higher Ed partners. And what the study said was “yes, all these things are possible.“ And then the second piece of it was well, where do we do it? And do we do it at the current zoo footprint? Do we do it somewhere else? And so, the market experts studied where to put the aquarium and they came to a location at the inner harbor. And the inner harbor is a really unique spot for a couple reasons. One, aquariums on water are more successful than those which are not. If you look at the New England aquarium, if you look at the Chattanooga aquarium, if you look at the Baltimore aquarium. Two, aquariums have been the stimulus for potential waterways that are underdeveloped in vacant property, and that’s kind of where we are with our own inner harbor. And so, when you look at the project going to the inner harbor, there’s so many different synergies for what this project is. One, it gives us the opportunity to continue to tell the cleanup of Onondaga Lake story. It gives us the opportunity to talk about the history of Onondaga Lake with what has happened there before we were all here, with the Haudenosaunee. It gives us the opportunity to have that research component with our higher Ed partners and give our children here and out of the county the ability to have a world class experience. How many of our kids have actually been to an aquarium? So, then you look at those aspects, but then you look at, what are the other aspects? It’s a jobs project. When you look at the construction jobs with this. Hundreds of construction jobs for over a year. It’s a jobs project for permanent jobs in the community, at the aquarium, but for the businesses that this project

Uncategorized

Cryptocurrency Prices In India Today 2nd May

by Barbara & James Peterson
August 1, 2022

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