Spokane counselor agrees to $138,000 Medicaid settlement

SPOKANE — A news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office on Feb. 25 states that a Spokane mental health counselor has agreed to pay $138,984 to resolve allegations that he and his company fraudulently billed Washington State Medicaid, also known as Apple Health.

The release states Dr. Ray Smith, a mental health counselor practicing in Spokane, and his company, A Brief Counseling Center, also known as Healthy Counseling Center, have agreed to pay $138,984 to resolve allegations that he and his company fraudulently billed Washington State Medicaid.

“According to court documents, this settlement resolves allegations under the False Claims Act that Dr. Smith and ABCC improperly billed Medicaid for unlicensed and unqualified therapists who did not meet qualification requirements, were not contracted with the state, and were not eligible for reimbursement through Medicaid. The settlement also resolves allegations that Dr. Smith and ABCC fraudulently billed Medicaid for the services by falsely misrepresenting that the services had been provided by licensed and qualified therapists,” the release states.

The release goes on to explain that the case began in November 2019 when two whistleblowers who had previously provided billing services for ABCC filed a qui tam complaint under seal.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said, according to the release, “the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for high-quality mental health services. To pose as qualified mental health professionals in order to claim Medicaid dollars is unethical, dangerous, and unlawful. I am proud of our collaboration with our federal partners, and the hard work it took to bring this company to justice. I look forward to continuing our work together to protect Medicaid dollars for those who need them.”