Pinnacle Multicare Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a New York-based nursing home co-owned by a Trump administration diplomatic nominee, received significant Medicare overpayments totaling at least $31.2 million, according to a federal audit. The organization is now suing to block repayment to the government.
Pinnacle is one of more than 100 nursing homes across eight states linked to an ownership network associated with Benjamin Landa, President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Hungary, according to a story in ProPublica.
An audit by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) late last year found that Pinnacle MultiCare received inflated reimbursements under a new payment system. Reviewing 100 claims, auditors determined that 99 violated billing requirements, often by charging for higher levels of care than patient records justified or for services patients did not need. In 95 of 99 claims, Pinnacle MultiCare billed for higher levels of service than justified – such as speech therapy for patients who didn’t need it – and in 54 claims, it billed for services patients’ charts showed they didn’t require, like wheelchair training for patients who could walk.
An attorney for Landa denied wrongdoing in a statement to the media outlet.
“At Pinnacle MultiCare, patient care comes first – period, full stop,” attorney Alyssa Friedman said in an emailed statement to ProPublica, highlighting that the issues identified in the audit occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when nursing homes were in the midst of a crisis.
Pinnacle is suing the federal government to halt collection of the funds, arguing the audit is flawed and unfairly applies stricter standards retroactively, particularly given relaxed rules during the pandemic. The facility also claims repayment could force it to shut down.
“Let’s be clear: this is about decisive actions taken during the height of COVID-19 that prioritized patients and saved lives in one of the pandemic’s epicenters – decisions now being second-guessed years later through an absurdly flawed audit of billing paperwork and a retroactive reinterpretation of the rules by government bureaucrats,” Friedman said.
Landa’s nomination is still under review by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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