Arrow-Med Ambulance, an ambulance service in Jackson, Ky., allegedly submitted false bills to Medicare and Medicaid, according to a Lexington Herald-Leader report.
Here are six things to know about the allegations.
1. A federal grand jury handed down indictments related to the allegations. Arrow-Med Ambulance; owner Hershel Jay Arrowood; Mr. Arrowood's wife, Lesa Arrowood; and a manager at Arrow-Med, Terry Herald, are charged with one count of conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and nearly 15 counts of helping one another to submit false bills, according to the report. The alleged false bills were submitted from September 2012 to August 2015.
2. Arrow-Med is accused in the indictment of submitting the false bills for ambulance transports that weren't medically necessary or eligible for reimbursement, according to the report. The transports were for dialysis patients and people receiving other treatment.
3. The indictment claims Mr. Arrowood told company workers not to document situations where patients could walk to and from the ambulance, while his wife told workers to submit false patient condition information on run sheets, according to the report. It also accuses Terry Herald of falsifying or being involved in the falsifying of run sheets.
4. Scott White, an attorney in Lexington, Ky., who represents the Arrowoods, denied the allegations against his clients in the indictment.
"Jay and Lesa Arrowood are good citizens who have done wonderful things in their community," he told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "They are not embarrassed or ashamed about anything they've done because they have not broken the law."
5. Defendants charged in the indictment could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the report, which added the federal government would also try to get money back if the defendants are convicted.
6. A separate civil lawsuit alleges Arrow-Med filed thousands of fraudulent bills that resulted in Medicare and Medicaid losing more than $1 million, according to the report.
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