State ends Medicaid contract with provider run by immigration attorney with suspended law license
The office for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services in Lewiston. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has ended a contract for Medicaid services with a residential care provider run by an immigration attorney whose license was recently suspended.
DHHS issued an emergency termination notice to Westbrook-based Beyond Residential Care in March, ending the provider’s agreement with the state for MaineCare services. The case was highlighted by the department this month as part of an effort to raise awareness of its work to mitigate fraud and abuse in its healthcare services program.
It comes amid widespread concerns, especially among Maine conservatives, about graft in MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program. Since December, the state has imposed payment suspensions for five providers facing credible allegations of fraud, including Portland-based Gateway Community Services, whose case has been highly publicized.
The notice to Beyond Residential Care doesn’t mention fraud, but describes substandard care that the department said jeopardizes the health and safety of MaineCare recipients.
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“Maine DHHS takes fraud seriously and is committed to ensuring that every dollar managed by the Department is utilized lawfully, effectively, and in direct support of the programs and people they are intended to serve,” DHHS spokesperson Lindsay Hammes said in an email.
The state sent its notice to Felix Hagenimana, who is listed on Beyond Residential Care’s website as its executive director, and who is also an attorney. Hagenimana was ordered by the Maine Superior Court last month to cease work on hundreds of legal cases following a complaint from the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar.
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The board said Hagenimana failed to file important documents in immigration court and accused him of having clients and employees, who are not lawyers, write up their own filings. He has disputed those claims, and the case is ongoing.
In a text message to a reporter Monday, Hagenimana said he also “strongly disputes” the characterizations in DHHS’ termination notice to Beyond Residential Care.
“BRC also disputes the accuracy of several allegations and the way events have been attributed to the company,” he said.
According to the termination notice, DHHS received “credible complaints of a serious nature regarding BRC homes and services,” which it then investigated with on-site visits. Following issuance of a notice of deficiency in January, DHHS received further complaints, conducted additional visits and found further violations, the notice said.
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Those violations included dog feces and urine on pads in a bedroom, a resident in bed with urine-soaked linens, evidence of bug infestations and old food on a stove, the state said.
Hagenimana said some of the violations predate his agency’s involvement with the clients in question.
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“In addition, DHHS claims that BRC failed to acknowledge DHHS’ alleged violations, which led to its escalation of enforcement actions, when in fact DHHS invited a plan of correction that we submitted,” he said.
Beyond Residential Care appealed the emergency termination and received a final decision upholding it. Separately, the group filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent the termination, among other actions, but it was dismissed by the court in June, according to DHHS.
Beyond Residential Care collected over $16 million in MaineCare claims — including both state and federal funds — since enrolling as a provider in January 2022, the department said.
Paradise Residential Services, a second provider that was also recently issued a termination order following allegations of health and safety risks, has collected over $28 million since October 2021. That group is appealing its termination notice, according to DHHS.
In the fiscal year that ended in June, MaineCare had a budget of $5.4 billion, of which $1.5 billion came from the state general fund.
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Rachel covers state government and politics for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her third beat at the paper after stints covering City Hall and education. Prior to her arrival at the Press Herald in. More by Rachel Ohm
