(Malini Basu, KHOU 11 News)
FBI agents conducted three simultaneous raids at centers in the Westbury Community Center Hospital system Thursday morning, according to authorities. The raids began at 5 a.m. at centers located in the 6100 block of Hornwood, the 5500 block of Gasmer and another one in Baytown.
The hospitals are all part of the group formerly known as Continuum. Authorities were investigating to find out if the company was illegally billing Medicare and Medicaid. “I would not work for a company that is not ethical,” Colleen Paxton, an administrator said.
Paxton says they deal with up to 200 mental health patients a day. “We get our patients in here, they sign consents, they’re in group therapy, they have master treatment plans,” Paxton explained.
Officials are trying to figure out if the company is using ambulances or work vans to round up homeless people off the streets then take them to their facilities for treatment. Sources said patients might not be getting treatment at all; instead they are watching television all day before being sent back to the streets.
(See the full story at KHOU 11 News)
OTHER HEADLINES:
- Tiniest Sextuplet Faces Challenges (Houston Chronicle)
- HPD Announces New Ministers Partnership (KUHF Public Radio)
- HISD and HCC Consider Stricter Ethics Rules to Polish Their Images (Houston Chronicle)
- Galveston Ready for Hurricane Season (KPRC 2 News)
- Dead Trees Removed by 100s in The Woodlands (KTRK 13 News)
- Metro in a Quandary as Transit Funding Heads to Voters (Houston Chronicle)
- Wounded Warriors Face New Enemy Overmedication (KUHF Public Radio)
OPINONS ON THE NEWS:
Student Loan Reauthorization Controversy
- Keep Interest Rates Low on Student Loans
(Editorial, Houston Chronicle)
“In the early heat of election season, every candidate seems to have the same position: the opposite of the other guy. But President Obama and Mitt Romney had a rare moment of political harmony this week when both called for Congress to extend temporary relief on interest rates for students.” - Subsidize Students, Not Tax Cuts (Editorial, New York Times)
“House Republicans say the country cannot afford the $6 billion a year that it costs to pay for the lower rates. [Yet] the Ryan budget, recently approved by the House, would allow the rates to double, and, at the same time, would cut taxes by $10 trillion over a decade.”