Rep. Ed Henry pleads not guilty in Medicare fraud case

State Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, was in federal court in Montgomery today for arraignment on charges of health care fraud. He pleaded not guilty.

State Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Montgomery this morning to charges involving Medicare fraud.

Henry had previously denied wrongdoing after he was indicted in May. But today's court appearance was the result of a second indictment issued in the case last month.

The 18-count indictment accuses Henry of conspiring to defraud Medicare, violating an anti-kickback law, health care fraud and conspiring to launder money.

Two internal medicine physicians, Punuru Reddy of Decatur and Nicole Scruggs of Huntsville, are each charged on two of the conspiracy counts. They referred patients to Henry's company, MyPractice24, for chronic care management, according to the indictment.

Scruggs and Reddy also pleaded not guilty today.

"Dr. Reddy remains one of the most talented physicians in this state and intends to continue to extend superior care to his patients as he always has," Anthony Joseph, an attorney for Reddy said in an email. "The care of his patients always come first." Joseph also said Reddy "has faith that the charges will be addressed in a court of law and his good name and professional reputation will be restored."

Lawyers for Reddy have filed a motion to dismiss the charges, saying the indictment wrongly lumps together three alleged conspiracies, only one of which was alleged to happen in the Middle District, where the case is being prosecuted. The motion says the actions alleged don't suggest a larger scheme with common objectives.

Gilberto Sanchez, who was the owner of a primary care practice in Montgomery called Family Practice, is accused in the indictment of being a conspirator but is not charged. Sanchez pleaded guilty in November 2017 to conspiracy to commit controlled substances, health care fraud and money laundering.

Medicare covers chronic care management for certain patients with at least two serious chronic conditions. Medicare will pay a provider about $32 a month for each beneficiary who receives at least 20 hours a month of care management, the indictment says. That can include services such as monitoring and updating a comprehensive care plan, arranging appointments and calling in prescriptions, the indictment says.

The indictment says the conspirators schemed to waive co-pays for chronic care management services, creating the potential that patients received unnecessary services that were billed to Medicare. It says actual charges were overstated to Medicare because of the waivers of the co-pays.

After today's arraignment, Henry reiterated his earlier statement that he had done nothing wrong. He said the service his company offered, chronic care management, is an important program that has saved taxpayers money.

"The travesty in all of this is that a program that Medicare designed and implemented and has proven saves them money to care for the most chronically ill is going to be put in jeopardy by the actions of the government in this case," Henry said.

Updated at 8:42 p.m. to add statement from Dr. Reddy's lawyer.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.