Doctors waiting for pay

Larry Henry

Thursday, Sept. 25, 1997 | 10:47 a.m.

Dr. Roger Meyer, who says the state owes him $200,000, is one of thousands caught up in a health-payment embezzlement scam -- but help might be on the way.

The state Committee on Benefits met Wednesday in Carson City to begin addressing the havoc created by L&H Associates. The company had a contract to pay state-employee health insurance claims and is suspected of walking off with more than $608,000.

A top priority in unraveling the mess is to assure that L&H's replacement, UICI Administrators, begins paying claims that have languished since summer, said state Budget Director Perry Comeaux, a member of the five-person benefits committee.

To get a handle on who is owed what, the committee hopes to expand its contract with a Sacramento auditor, William Mercer Co., by up to $8,500. The state Board of Examiners will consider the Mercer contract at a meeting Tuesday.

Comeaux says a backlog of 106,000 claims to doctors and patients was left unpaid between May 28, when L&H was fired, to Sept. 2, when UICI began honoring claims.

He said UICI hopes to make good on the claims by January 1998.

Among those looking for payment is Meyer, a Carson City gynecologist.

"Most people don't feel sorry for doctors not being paid," Meyer told the benefits committee. "I'm the one who's been cheated, and I'm made to look bad."

L&H Associates is accused of bilking the state of at least $608,000 and possibly more than $1 million.

The FBI White Collar Crime Unit in Las Vegas is investigating allegations that L&H officials paid claims into phony accounts, probably from Jan. 22-27. The scam came to light when a woman received paperwork for a kidney dialysis she never had.

Nevada Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman fined L&H and related firms a total of $6,000 and pulled their licenses.

The benefits committee also agreed Wednesday to audit third-party administrators more frequently and to scrutinize their books when they're hired.

"That's what go us into trouble with L&H," Comeaux said.