SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - An ambulance company that has served Sioux Falls since 2015 is assuring local officials that the city wasn’t involved in any actions the company is being accused of by federal prosecutors in other states.
The federal government has accused Paramedics Plus of paying Oklahoma-based Emergency Medical Services Authority more than $20 million in gifts, campaign contributions and cash payments to maintain a lucrative contract, the Argus Leader (https://argusne.ws/2k7xjDu ) reported. The government is trying to recoup what it says was falsely claimed Medicaid and Medicare dollars.
Paramedics Plus Vice President Mark Postma sent an email to Sioux City officials on Wednesday, dismissing the allegations and assuring them that the city wasn’t involved in any of the actions under scrutiny by the federal government.
Alicia Collura, spokeswoman for public health and operations for Sioux Falls, confirmed that the local ambulance service isn’t part of the investigation. She said local service will not be impacted.
City officials said they are reserving judgment on the company’s future in Sioux Falls.
“They get their day in court,” City Councilor Pat Starr said. “They’re going to get a chance to respond to these allegations, and at this point they’re just charges.”
Federal court documents allege that the ambulance service offered “profit-cap” deals to authorities in other states to receive and maintain contracts for service.
“Today, it is common practice for ambulance services, other than Paramedics Plus, to have similar profit-cap arrangements,” Postma wrote in his email to Sioux Falls leaders, adding later: “We do not now nor have we ever had any profit cap arrangements in our Sioux Falls contract.”
A federal complaint alleges that the term “profit-cap” is an attempt to legitimize a kickback scheme. The government accuses Paramedics Plus of allegedly distributing bribes between 1998 and 2013, and offering a percentage of excess profits to employees of an Oklahoma trust that oversaw ambulance services for Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
Federal court documents allege similar “profit cap” deals were offered by Paramedics Plus to authorities in Florida, California and Indiana to get and keep contracts.
The case was initially filed in 2014 by a former Paramedics Plus executive on behalf of the federal government. The U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Texas later took over the lawsuit. The company is being accused of violating the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com
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