CONYERS, Ga. — A home health business in Conyers is continuing to be investigated by the state Department of Community Health.
Earlier in December, former employees at R And E Healthcare told Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers they weren’t being paid by the owner, Ella Stephenson. Now, patients are saying they’re having issues with the owner as well.
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Tameshia Dixon said she found discrepancies in paperwork and her insurance billing that caused her to file a complaint with the state. She said she started with R And E on July 5, 2024. She has copies of the intake paperwork she signed that day. However, when Dixon asked for copies of her medical records from Stephenson, she said she was sent intake paperwork dated July 1, 2023.
Dixon started having seizures in January of 2024 and was diagnosed with Epilepsy shortly after. She said she didn’t have any major medical issues before that.
However, that wasn’t the only odd data she said she noticed.
“I have insurance with Cigna Insurance, and they have an option where you can see what does and doesn’t get paid,” Dixon said. “When I started looking over my insurance payments, I saw that R And E Healthcare started being billed in June, like June 15th, but I wasn’t with them in June, and it was like several charges.”
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After one of Dixon’s last hospital visits, doctors referred her to R and E. Documents show she was a patient from July until November 2024.
“A nursing visit, home health aid, physical therapy, and occupational therapy is what they approved me for,” Dixon said. Dixon said she started noticing she was being billed for services she didn’t get.
“I was being billed visits on the weekend,” Dixon said. However, she has a calendar, several documents, and Ring doorbell video showing those visits didn’t happen.
Stephenson said she’s willing to work with Dixon to get the insurance payments sorted.
“We are not able to correct something that we don’t know,” Stephenson said. “If we put in the wrong date, then that’s wrong…We go and compare what we have to what the patient is saying.”
However, Dixon said that also doesn’t explain how the documents that Stephenson sent her were different from the documents she signed and has copies.
“This is something she sent within the email with my medical record, for one I was not at Piedmont Henry.” Dixon said. “I was at Piedmont Newton.”
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When Stephenson was asked how that change happened on the document she said, “I’m not sure how Henry got on her paperwork when she was discharged from Newton.” When Rogers asked if that meant she couldn’t explain it, Stephenson said, “Without being condescending, and I don’t want to be. I’d like to give an intelligent answer, but I don’t know how Henry got on her paperwork.”
Dixon said Stephenson should have all of the paperwork she has because it’s Stephenson’s business. She said she’s turned over everything she had to the insurance company because that’s what they asked her to do. She said Stephenson needs to turn over her documents to the insurance company as well.
Dixon said through this entire ordeal, she’s been suffering.
“I’m not even getting the services that I need to be getting right now, so that’s frustrating because I don’t want setbacks,” Dixon said.
DCH wouldn’t say how far along they are in their investigation but said once the investigation is complete they would post their findings on their website.
Channel 2 also reached out to Cigna to get an update on their investigation but hasn’t gotten a response yet.
Stephenson sent a text to Rogers saying “The dates in June have been fixed and refunded.”
However, Dixon said she checked with Cigna and sent screenshots where Cigna had not received any documents or payments. Dixon says she’s now considering legal action.
Stephenson said R And E Healthcare is going to be shut down. However, she also said she learned from this experience and will be overhauling her system and turning her systems fully digital.
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