NBC News turned a national spotlight this weekend on Dr. Brian Hyatt, the Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist accused of defrauding Medicaid and Medicare and improperly holding patients against their will at an inpatient behavioral health unit at a Springdale hospital, Northwest Medical Center.
Until recently, Hyatt was chair of the State Medical Board, the body that regulates the practices of doctors, physician assistants and other medical professionals. Hyatt was suspended from the state Medicaid program in March after the Arkansas attorney general’s office began investigating allegations he’d overbilled Medicaid and Medicare for patients he rarely, if ever, saw face-to-face. He resigned his chairmanship shortly after news of his suspension surfaced but maintained a seat on the board until May. The Arkansas Advocate has been following the case closely.
The more disturbing allegations concern how exactly Hyatt overbilled insurers — by holding patients in the behavioral health unit for days longer than appropriate. State law allows mental health patients to be held involuntarily for up to three days if they pose a danger to others or to themselves, but providers must seek a court order for any period longer than 72 hours. NBC interviewed two former patients who claim they were mistreated in the unit, one of whom was released only after his attorney sought help from the the Washington County sheriff’s office:
VanWhy’s release marked the second time in two months that a patient was released from Hyatt’s unit only after a sheriff’s deputy showed up with a court order, according to court records.
“I think that they were running a scheme to hold people as long as possible, to bill their insurance as long as possible before kicking them out the door, and then filling the bed with someone else,” said Aaron Cash, a lawyer who represents VanWhy.
The hospital has since fired Hyatt and agreed to a settlement with federal health authorities over the allegations of billing misconduct (the state investigation appears to be ongoing). Hyatt has not been charged with a crime. He didn’t respond to NBC reporters but earlier has denied the accusations against him.
Meanwhile, the lawsuits are stacking up: At least 26 former patients have sued the doctor thus far, and Cash told NBC he’s spoken to “more than [a] hundred.”