Psychologist Medea Woods scheduled for November '11 Medicaid fraud trial

June 1, 2011

On or about April 15, 2011, psychologist Medea Woods, who formerly practiced in Madison, Indiana, had a pretrial hearing in Jefferson County Circuit Court on criminal charges of Medicaid fraud. 

Woods, who currently lives in Wyoming, is accused of billing the Medicaid program more than $350,000 for patient therapy sessions that prosecutors say never took place. 

From 2002 to 2007, Wood offered psychologist services from her business, Burnham Woods Counseling North, Inc. and from her home. 

According to a court affidavit, an audit of Wood’s Medicaid claims found that Wood submitted and inordinately high amount of claims.  She was unable to produce 15 of the 41 records sought by auditors. 

The Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s (MFCU) investigation found that Woods bills for multiple therapy sessions for the same patient taking place on a single day or during the same week—more frequently than her patients reported receiving services—and that she allegedly billed multiple claims for patients she only saw once. 

She also is alleged to have billed for weekend therapy sessions that either did not occur or involved activities such as riding or care for her horses that don’t qualify as psychotherapy under Medicaid. 

Finally, the MFCU found that the majority of claims Woods submitted lacked evidence that she legitimately provided services, constituting a loss to the Medicaid program of more than $350,000. 

She is scheduled for trial November 15, 2011.

Source: Evan Shields, “Hearing held for psychologist charged with Medicaid fraud,” The Madison Courier, April 15, 2011.