71-5-2509 - Powers when investigating fraud or abuse Judicial enforcement.
71-5-2509. Powers when investigating fraud or abuse Judicial enforcement.
(a) (1) The office of inspector general, when conducting any investigation relating to TennCare fraud or abuse, shall have the power to issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses, the examination of such witnesses under oath, and the production of books, accounts, papers, records, and documents relating to such investigation.
(2) In the case of a failure of any person, firm, or corporation so subpoenaed to attend or to produce the specified records, and after reasonable notice to such person, firm, or corporation, the office of inspector general may seek judicial enforcement of the subpoena by filing, through the attorney general, a petition with the circuit or chancery court of Davidson County or of the judicial district in which such person, firm, or corporation resides. Such petition shall incorporate or be accompanied by a certification regarding the notice given and the failure of such person, firm or corporation to attend or produce the records.
(3) Upon the filing of such a petition in proper form, the court shall order the person, firm, or corporation named in the petition to appear and show cause why they should not comply with the subpoena or be held in contempt for failure to comply. The court shall have authority to employ all judicial power as provided by law to compel compliance with the subpoena, including those powers granted in §§ 29-9-103 29-9-106. The court shall be authorized to impose costs and sanctions against any such person, firm, or corporation, in the same manner and on the same bases as may be imposed for failure to comply with judicially issued subpoenas under the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure.
(4) The court may order the person, firm, or corporation to comply, and shall have the authority to punish each day of failure to comply with such order as a separate contempt of court.
(5) The subpoena enforcement remedies set forth in this subsection (a) shall be cumulative, and not exclusive, of any other remedies provided by law for the enforcement of such subpoenas.
(b) The office of inspector general shall have the power to compel the production of current and former employment records during an investigation. Employment records include, but are not limited to, employment details, wages, and insurance information of TennCare applicants and enrollees. Employment records shall be open to inspection and be subject to being copied by an office of inspector general representative at any reasonable time and as often as may be necessary. The office of inspector general shall also have the right to compare information reported to TennCare by applicants or enrollees with data maintained by the credit bureaus.
(c) The complete patient record of an enrollee or recipient generated during the TennCare enrollment period shall be made available to the office of inspector general upon request. This includes any and all services, goods and pharmaceuticals dispensed regardless of payment source. Access to these records under this section may occur during and after enrollment in the TennCare program. Records accessed during an investigation shall be protected in accordance with state and federal privacy laws.
[Acts 2004, ch. 673, § 20; 2005, ch. 474, § 8.]