State seeks to pull Medicaid funds from kids mental-services provider

By Carolyne Park

The Arkansas Department of Human Services has been stalled in its efforts to pull Medicaid funding and recoup $ 815, 807 from a southeast Arkansas mental-health provider that it says improperly billed for services, kept poor records and allowed unqualified personnel to diagnose and treat patients without proper oversight.

Gilead Family Resource Center Inc. is a private outpatient provider that serves mostly children and teenagers at clinics in McGehee, Dumas, Lake Village, Hamburg and Monticello.

The company sued the state after receiving notice of the termination of its Medicaid contract earlier this month. It claims that cutting Medicaid funding would halt much-needed services to its clients, many of whom are diagnosed with severe mental illnesses.

“The termination meant there were 429 clients who are extremely attached to their provider that are suddenly left cold,” Chuck Gibson, Gilead’s president, said Friday.