Superstition fire and medical adds policy to check for health care fraudsters

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

A new policy of the Superstition Fire and Medical District outlines the process to ensure no employee working for — or contractor doing business with — the district is on the Office of Inspector General’s list of excluded individuals/entities.

The policy puts the district into compliance with the federal government, Administrative Services Director Anna Butel said during the SFMD board’s Dec. 18 meeting.

“We are required because we bill insurance for transportation services to ensure that we do not work with anyone or employ anyone who has committed health care fraud. This is something we’ve been doing for quite some time; we just needed to get the policy in place,” she said. “They provide a database and we just do a list of our employees as the database gets updated.”

In accordance and compliance with applicable federal, state and local law, SFMD will not employ or do business with individuals or entities who have been convicted of health care fraud or listed by a federal agency as excluded, debarred or otherwise ineligible to participate in federal health care programs, Butel said in a memo to the board.

The SFMD board voted unanimously Dec. 18 to approve policy 804: HIPPA and transportation billing compliance. Board member Shawn Kurian was absent.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is the federal law restricting release of medical information.

The district, which is primarily funded by property taxes, provides fire suppression, fire prevention, wildland protection, advanced life support, rescue, extrication and medical transportation services out of five fire stations in Apache Junction and Gold Canyon.

Because of a firefighting conference, the next SFMD board meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 14. SFMD board meetings are generally held at 5:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month at the SFMD Administrative Office, 565 N. Idaho Road in Apache Junction. Agendas are at https://sfmd.az.gov/.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.