Rhea Co. Woman Charged with TennCare Drug Fraud

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Rhea County woman is charged with doctor shopping for prescription drugs, and using TennCare as payment.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG), with the assistance of the Rhea County Sheriff’s Office, today announced the arrest of Bethany L. Dannel, 29, of Spring City. She is charged with five counts of fraudulently using TennCare to obtain a controlled substance by doctor shopping, which involves going to multiple providers in a short period of time to obtain prescriptions. The drugs involved were the painkiller Oxycodone and the anti-depressant Xanax. The physician visits, prescriptions or both were paid for by TennCare.

“Unauthorized use of TennCare to obtain prescription drugs is a serious crime we are pursuing every day across Tennessee, “Inspector General Manny Tyndall said. “The Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring TennCare benefits are not abused in this manner so that we preserve the program for those who truly need the benefits.”

TennCare fraud is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison per charge.  District Attorney General J. Michael Taylor is prosecuting.

The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to more than $3 million being repaid to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of more than $163.6 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 2,583 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.

Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”