Preferred Family Healthcare is close to a deal to sell all of its Arkansas operations, not related to its contracts with the state Department of Human Services, to an affiliate of a Russellville-based health care firm, the Missouri-based nonprofit said in a statement late Friday.
"TrueNorth, a sister company of Real Practices Inc. ... has recently signed a letter of intent to acquire all of the PFH non-DHS contractual operations in Arkansas," the statement said.
"The partners are working on the specifics of the acquisition" and hope to close the deal on Sept. 1, the statement adds. "We are encouraged that this acquisition will greatly benefit our clients and our employees in Arkansas."
The statement described Real Practices as being in the health care business for more than 25 years. The Real Practices web page says it is still under construction, and links to corporate information return a "not found" error message.
Preferred Family and its Arkansas affiliates lost 16 state contracts June 29 when the Human Services Department rescinded them after the arrest of a former executive who was charged with Medicaid fraud. Not all of the contracts used Medicaid funds. The department then brokered deals with other providers to take over those contracts.
The Springfield, Mo.-based company told its employees on July 3 that it could not sustain its Arkansas business without the state contracts. Preferred Family has 47 locations in Arkansas and operates in four other states -- Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
The company decided it was in the best interests of its employees, its clients and itself to sell its noncontract clinics and services to a business that can keep the company's staff members in the same communities, spokesman Reginald McElhanon said on Aug. 6.
The former chief Arkansas lobbyist for Preferred Family pleaded guilty in June to a $3.5 million bribery and influence-peddling scheme. The investigation resulted in either guilty pleas or convictions at trial of four former state lawmakers so far. The federal investigation is ongoing and is now known to involve at least three states. The lobbyist involved, Milton R. "Rusty" Cranford of Bentonville, also administered Preferred Family's Arkansas operations until last year.
The state put Preferred Family under enhanced scrutiny after Cranford's arrest in February. That scrutiny included unannounced financial checks. The 16 contracts were ended, and the task of reassigning them began after another former company executive was charged, after Cranford's sentencing, with Medicaid fraud.
Information for this article was provided by Doug Thompson of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 08/19/2018