Kentucky Lt. Gov. Accused of Medicare Fraud (Note the Clinton connection!)

AP ^ | November 7, 2002 | Associated Press

[Dems_R_Losers]

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 7 — The federal government filed a lawsuit today accusing Lt. Gov. Steve Henry, an orthopedic surgeon who is considering running for governor next year, of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid.

The accusations stem from Dr. Henry's role supervising orthopedic residents, or surgeons in training, at the University of Louisville.

Under federal regulations, supervising doctors must be present during surgery to legally bill the two government programs for their time. A lawsuit brought today under the False Claims Act accuses Dr. Henry of improperly billing for 44 operations it says he missed.

All 44 operations were from 1996 to 2001, after Dr. Henry was elected lieutenant governor as a Democrat in 1995.

Each incident described in the lawsuit outlines Dr. Henry's whereabouts at the time of the surgery. Most show him at political functions when the surgery was performed, including an Oct. 10, 1996, operation the lawsuit shows listed for the same hours it says Dr. Henry was awaiting the arrival of President Bill Clinton at a political rally.

In a news conference today, Dr. Henry called the accusations untrue. He said he missed only 16 operations, not 44, and blamed staff members for the billing errors in the 16 cases.

He also said the mistakes were not made "recklessly or intentionally."

"We're not dealing with any crime," Dr. Henry said. "If I had done anything wrong, they would have me in criminal proceedings. This comes down to who owes who money."

He has said he intended to continue exploring a run for governor.

Gov. Paul Patton, embroiled in accusations that he used his office to assist and then retaliate against a business owner with whom he had had an affair, is barred by term limits from seeking re-election.

The case against Dr. Henry had been investigated for possible criminal violations, but United States Attorney Stephen Pence said in September that he would not seek an indictment.

Mr. Pence said that he delayed filing the lawsuit at the request of Dr. Henry's lawyers but that settlement discussions had "not been fruitful."

Under the False Claims Act, the government is allowed to triple the amount of damages to the state. Mr. Pence estimates the loss to the state at $60,000, which would be tripled to $180,000.

The lawsuit also seeks a penalty of $5,000 to $11,000 for each of the 44 claims, raising the approximate total of damages plus penalties to $400,000 to $600,000, Mr. Pence said.

Dr. Henry's lawyer, Bixler Howland, disputed the $60,000 figure, saying medical bills and records showed that the state lost only $27,000.

Dr. Henry then received less than half that amount, Mr. Pence said.

Most investigations under the act have involved Medicare, which pays for health care for the elderly and also provides billions of dollars to the nation's teaching hospitals for medical education.

[bethelgrad]

You don't have to worry about us down in Wilmore and Nicholasville. We like our Republicans.

[Dianna]

I also think that he's more than a little bitter about the aggressive attacks on his credibility and integrity by his GOP opponent last week. I'm all for going on offense, but his opponent (think his name was Davis) crossed the line in his final-week radio ads

Really? I missed their debate and never saw/heard much of anything from Lucas at all. My neighbor saw the debate and said that Lucas was nasty. Then came out the ads about Davis' honesty and releasing 10 years of tax returns.

Is this what you're talking about or is there something else?

[Republican Wildcat]

And aren't you glad that we PAID for his wedding?

[Republican Wildcat]

I think Crosbie is still the top candidate. The "whispers" were saying he would be the ideal person, whichever way the mayor's race went. He should have the name recognition, because the ads he ran were seen by the entire district.

[Frank_2001]

I thought she was one hot babe, until she switched:((((

[Fred Mertz]

You want to FReep him in about ten hours?

[Republican Wildcat]

I know Lucas pretty well, and he really does not want to switch, but I think the election of Pelosi as minority leader just might send him over the edge.

He doesn't really have to switch. He could stay a Democrat and caucus with the Republicans (vote for Hastert instead of Pelosi).

[RonPaulLives]

As you all may recall, I talked about Lt. Governor Henry's fiascos earlier on, in the Paul Patton Sex-for-favors threads. It is a known fact that his wedding with Heather was a Democratic Party fundraiser. I have friends who have copies of the invitation. The only thing I don't know is whether it was a money-maker for his campaign or the State Dem. Party at-large. But you had to ante up campaign contributions in order to attend. It looks like we may finally get that governor's seat that I thought we had in 1995 with Larry Forgy.

[awelliott]

Politics, corruption, deceit...the Amerikan way, eh?

Well, the demokrat way, at least. Anyway, it sounds like she's in the appropriate party now....

[litany_of_lies]

Yes, I am talking about the same thing. I didn't mention that Davis, at least in his commercials, said he released 10 years of his tax returns. I figured this was in response to a Lucas attack, but I thought Davis went a bit over the top in response to the attack. It's certainly true that neither guy played nice.

The bottom line is that I think Lucas, rightly or not, is somewhat bitter, and that this might be a factor in preventing a switch.

That said, Lucas seems to have beliefs that are closer to the GOP than they are to the San Franciscans who appear to be taking over the Democratic Party. If I remember correctly, he's pro-life and pro-RTKBA. I he could "get over it," his future would be brighter, especially in a state (KY) that appears to finally be breaking to the GOP for good. I've never understood why the Dems have had such a stranglehold in an obviously conservative state.

[SLB]

FREEP?

[Fred Mertz]

I did a stealth FReep of Steve Henry this morning. I'll compose a summary tomorrow sometime. I just got in and online and I'm bushed. Suffice it to say, I caught the ire of both Steve Henry and his Miss America wife, Heather.

[SLB]

I had a senior moment - thought the parade was tomorrow morning. Don't know why, but I even put it on the calendar in the kitchen. OOPS!