Latest news with #FishingPointHealthcare
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nansemond Indian Nation says Virginia is withholding Medicaid funding in new lawsuit
Fishing Point Healthcare's original clinic in Portsmouth opened in 2024. It's since opened one in Newport News, with plans for further expansion. (Photo by Laura Philion/WHRO) By Ryan Murphy/WHRO The Nansemond Indian Nation is accusing the state of Virginia of undermining its sovereign rights and violating federal law by refusing to pay out $1.7 million in Medicaid claims. The tribe alleges in a new federal lawsuit that state agencies and officials are trying to shift the blame for Virginia's financial mistakes and coerce Fishing Point Healthcare, a clinic operated by the tribe, into a new structure to compete less with other private providers. 'Rather than partnering with a federally recognized Tribal Nation to improve health-care access for low-income families and stabilize Virginia's own faltering healthcare infrastructure, Virginia officials have instead weaponized the Commonwealth's administrative machinery to punish a Tribal Health Program that dared to step into the breach,' reads the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday. The filing says Virginia appears to have thought Fishing Point would only be serving tribal members. The suit says state agencies likely claimed an incorrect amount for Medicaid payments for non-Native American patients than allowed, 'thereby creating a substantial risk that the federal government would reclaim millions of dollars from' the state. The tribe says the state argued after the fact that some of the services Fishing Point was providing were not authorized for Medicaid reimbursement 'so they could shift any repayment obligation' onto the Nansemond. The state also pushed the tribe to rework its clinic structure, away from the federally-recognized Tribal Health Program and to a model similar to private companies contracted with the state. The tribe argues the state's pressure was intended to limit Fishing Point's competition with other private providers. The filing alleges the state has refused to pay out any Medicaid reimbursements for some services since October, and as of March 31stall of Fishing Point's Medicaid claims were frozen – a total of 7,650 worth about $1.7 million – 'thereby weaponizing the billing process to coerce Plaintiffs into capitulating to Defendants' demands.' Efforts to reach Virginia's Department of Medical Assistance Services, which manages Medicaid in the state and is named as one of the defendants in the filing, received no response Wednesday. Fishing Point says it's continuing to provide care to both tribal members and non-Native American patients, but the funding freeze 'represents a financial chokehold that threatens to cripple Fishing Point's ability to sustain operations,' according to the lawsuit. The Suffolk-based tribe started Fishing Point Healthcare in 2023, five years after it was federally recognized. Federal recognition allows tribal nations to provide health care to its members and serve anyone using federal healthcare assistance like Medicaid. The system started with a clinic in Portsmouth and Fishing point just opened its second clinic in Newport News. Fishing Point CEO Lance Johnson told WHRO earlier this year the health system has plans for expansion to other cities over the next few years, including a Norfolk clinic already in the works. This story was originally published by WHRO Public Media, the Hampton Roads region's largest media company.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Fishing Point Healthcare set to host Community Day at new Newport News location
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Fishing Point Healthcare is set to host a free community event on Saturday. The Fishing Point Healthcare Community Day is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2315 Jefferson Ave. in Newport News. Dr. Eboni Carter from Family Medicine Physician at Fishing Point said the event is to learn about screenings and Fishing Point while getting to feed the community. In 2023, the Nansemond Indian Nation established Fishing Point Healthcare to provide access to care for Medicaid and Tribal member patients. 'With Our clinics, the Nansemond Indian Nation has decided to put clinics in places where there's a very high need for primary healthcare,' Carter said. 'That includes behavioral healthcare, recovery services, pharmacy services, physical therapy, [and] transportation. All of these are encompassed in one place, that provides a medical home for patients who are in need.' The new East End of Newport News location is currently under construction, expected to open the summer of 2025. 'It's not uncommon for me to see patients on a weekly basis who tell me that they have not seen a physician and especially not a primary care physician for 20-30 years,' Carter said. 'This is definitely a need in the community.' John Eley III, Newport News Councilman South District 3, reacted to the delays in care. 'That is the reality that we are living in now, but being that we're going to have walkable healthcare in our community … it is a gamechanger,' said Eley. 'This is exciting news to have Fishing Point Healthcare right there in our backyard. It is walking distance for me. It's within walking distance for the community. It's so exciting to see a pharmacy right there where you can get your prescription and you can see the doctor all in one visit.' The office will offer primary care, physical therapy, pharmacy services and behavioral health options. If you don't have a ride to an appointment, the staff will help arrange transportation. Patients can come in and not have to pay as everything is through contracts with Medicaid and with Tribal health care, Carter said. 'This is the way medicine should be practiced. After 24 years, I've never seen anything like this. This is a special place! You have people who genuinely care… I've been there for a year. I left my practice of 20 years just because the mandate that they gave me was to take care of patients. [They said] That's all we need you to do. When you're working in a system where there's a lot of bureaucracy… there's a lot of hoops that you have to jump through. This is a place that you don't have to jump through hoops! You just take care of the patient!' -Dr. Eboni Carter, Fishing Point Healthcare Physician Achievable Dream, the What's Next job training and 40 other vendors partnered with event. 'Fishing Point is the type of company it's not just for citizens of Newport News, is for citizens of the whole Hampton Roads area,' said Eley. Until construction is complete, Fishing Point Healthcare services are provided at 732 Thimble Shoals Drive Suite 803 in Newport News. Transportation arrangement can be made at 757-861-9040. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
