Medicaid Fraud Case Highlights Need For Protection

MONTGOMERY COUNTY (CBS) - The recent arrests of two women in Montgomery County for allegedly neglecting a man who needed round-the-clock care after a devastating brain injury several years ago shows the importance of a new state law designed to protect a large segment of the population.

State officials say the man's wife and her mother stole state Medicaid funds, money that was supposed to be used to provide care after a traumatic brain injury. Montgomery County DA Risa Ferman says her office got involved when a hospital realized the man wasn't getting the care he should be and contacted a county agency.

Ferman says, "There were areas where we needed to get involved in different ways. There were things that fell outside our traditional jurisdiction and outside of the office of aging and adult services and we really wanted to provide a bridge."

The new law now provides protections for dependent care people between 18 and 59 who in the past slipped through the cracks because they weren't children or seniors. In this case, a Montgomery County law firm donated their time and took guardianship of the man so he could get help, but he died soon after.

Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio