Warren Mayor calls on Ohio AG to investigate Steward for alleged Medicare fraud

Warren Mayor Doug Franklin has penned a letter to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost asking him to investigate Steward Health for alleged Medicare fraud.

According to the letter, dated Friday, April 25, Steward is continuing to control and restrict access to a bank account where Medicaid, Medicare and other government funds are deposited and is refusing to release these funds, which are necessary to pay for operations at the hospital, to Insight.

Both Insight-owned hospitals in Trumbull County halted operations and furloughed staff members following developments in Steward Health's bankruptcy case.

"It is our understanding that it is illegal for Steward to withhold Medicaid payments from the provider providing services (Insight Trumbull)," the letter reads.

Additionally, Mayor Franklin is accusing Steward of paying themselves and other vendors with those funds that should be going to Insight.

"We share a common goal with Insight Trumbull to bring services back, bring employees back to work and make sure the community has access to quality healthcare. This goal can only be achieved with Insight Trumbull having access to funds to operate the hospital," Franklin wrote.

Allegations of Medicare fraud from Steward were first reported following a press conference held April 3 where Mayor Franklin verbally called for a criminal investigation into Steward.

It was then that Mayor Franklin called on Congressman Dave Joyce and U.S. Senators Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno to investigate this alleged fraud as well.

"Our citizens, our community deserve and are entitled to this money. This scheme must stop. ... These are public dollars and they can't sit on them. It's not theirs, it's not right. Millions of dollars are at stake and our community's health care is at stake," Franklin said.

You can read much more about Steward's bankruptcy and the closures of Insight's hospitals in our related coverage below.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Warren Mayor calls on criminal investigation of Steward Health for alleged Medicare fraud