Cumberland County Woman Charged For Second Time With TennCare "Doctor Shopping"
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 | 08:25am
NASHVILLE – A Cumberland County woman faces her second arrest for TennCare fraud involving “doctor shopping,” or using TennCare to pay for multiple doctors in a short period of time to obtain controlled substances.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), with the assistance of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, today announced the arrest of Georgia I. Slagle, 53, of Crossville.
A Cumberland County Grand Jury indicted Slagle on two counts of fraudulently using TennCare to obtain Lortab, a controlled substance by “doctor shopping.” Slagle failed to disclose to her doctor that she had seen other physicians within a 30-day period and received prescriptions for the same or similar controlled substance.
Slagle was arrested in September 2008 and charged with one count of “doctor shopping” for failing to disclose to her doctor she had received prescriptions for a time-release version of the painkiller Morphine known as Kadian.
“We are aggressively working to stop the abuse and misuse of the TennCare program,” Inspector General Deborah Faulkner said. “We are pursuing prescription drug and doctor shopping cases across the state and plan to prosecute anyone and everyone we find committing TennCare fraud.”
TennCare fraud is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to two years per charge in prison. District Attorney General Randy York will be prosecuting both cases.
The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to over $2.6 million paid in restitution and recoupment to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of over $159 million for the TennCare program, according to latest figures.
Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. "Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tncarefraud.tennessee.gov and follow the prompts that read "Report TennCare Fraud."