SPRINGDALE, Ark. — According to court documents, Dr. Brian Hyatt, a former chairman for the Arkansas State Medical Board and the former head of the Behavioral Health Unit at Northwest Health is facing two charges of Medicaid fraud amid accusations that he kept patients hospitalized against their will in order to collect Medicaid payments.
In February, Dr. Hyatt's Medicaid services were suspended when the fraud allegations against him and his practice at the behavioral unit were deemed credible, according to the Office of Medicaid Inspector General. During their investigation, they found that between January 2019 and May 2022, over 99.9% of Dr. Hyatt's claims for Medicaid were billed under the highest possible code. Nationally, only about 21% of doctors' Medicaid billing used that code.
In May 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) executed a search warrant against Dr. Hyatt as part of the investigation.
Dr. Hyatt resigned his position on the Arkansas State Medical Board after the search warrant was executed, stating that "I am not resigning because of any wrongdoing on my part, but so that the board may continue its important work without delay or distraction. I will continue to defend myself in the proper forum against the false allegations being made against me."
One former patient of the Behavioral Health Unit who was under the care of Dr. Brian Hyatt says he was sued by the hospital for not paying his bill— a bill for services he says he never received.
That lawsuit has since been dropped, but dozens of lawsuits against Dr. Hyatt claim he falsely imprisoned his patients, keeping them in the behavior unit as long as possible, without visiting or providing regular medical attention.
In May 2023, a $1.1 million settlement was reached between Northwest Health and the Arkansas Attorney General's office. The hospital terminated its contract with Hyatt in May 2022 after lawsuits were filed against him and the hospital.
On Oct. 9, Attorney General Tim Griffin said “This afternoon I learned of Dr. Brian Hyatt’s arrest by the Rogers Police Department. Dr. Hyatt’s arrest came after my office’s warrant was signed by a Pulaski County District Court judge this morning. My office has made arrangements with Dr. Hyatt’s attorney for Hyatt to appear in Pulaski County for a bail hearing later this month.”
One of the lawsuits filed against Dr. Hyatt and the hospital claimed that a woman had accidentally overdosed on Tylenol and was subsequently kept in the unit against her will.
The woman suing Dr. Hyatt said she'd expressed to employees that she wanted to leave but was told that if she tried to leave they would take her to court to get her to stay longer because "the judge always sided with Dr. Hyatt."
The charges that Dr. Hyatt is facing carry a minimum sentence of six years and a maximum of 30 years.
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