State sues occupational therapy company and its owner, who serves on state Medicaid board, for millions in Medicaid overbilling

Jul. 18--A company owned by a member of the state Medicaid oversight council has been sued by the state for allegedly overbilling Medicaid by more than $3 million for occupational and physical therapy for children, Attorney General William Tong's office said Wednesday.

Catherine Risigo Wickline, 54, and her company, Therapy Unlimited LLC of 900 Main St., Watertown, submitted thousands of claims for reimbursements to the Medicaid program for more time than her therapists and other employees spent with the children, the attorney general's lawsuit charges.

The complaint goes on to say that about a thousand of the claims involved the work of unlicensed employees of Wickline's.

"There's two sides to every story -- that is all I'll say," Wickline said before referring a reporter to her lawyer, Arnold I. Menchel.

Menchel said the state's lawsuit "presents only one side. We look forward to presenting Catherine's side as the litigation unfolds."

Wickline, a recognizable figure at the state Legislative Office Building, is one of the legislatively appointed members of the Medical Assistance Program Oversight Council.

The council advises the Department of Social Services on the Medicaid and Husky insurance programs, including transitions from managed care, eligibility standards, benefits, health care access and quality measures, according to its website.

DSS Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford joined Tong and Comptroller Kevin Lembo in announcing the lawsuit. Gifford said Medicaid provides care and services to the state's most vulnerable children and adults.

Wickline and Therapy Unlimited would regularly bill the state for two and a half hours of occupational and physical therapy for the children when the sessions actually lasted less then 45 minutes, the lawsuit says.

Wickline is a state licensed occupational therapist, according to records.

Three weeks ago, the attorney general's office reached a $1.5 million settlement with Clinical Science Laboratory Inc. of Massachusetts and owners Stanley Elfbaum and Louis Amoruso related to overbilling for urine drug tests. The lab would bill the state's Medicaid program for $38 per test while charging its customers -- the drug treatment clinics -- $2 per test, Tong's office said.

Josh Kovner can be reached at jkovner@courant.com.

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