Weeks after Fishing Point Healthcare paused services, Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said the city is working with state agencies to ensure patients continue receiving care.
Fishing Point Healthcare had been serving more than 4,000 Medicaid patients before suspending operations as a result of an ongoing fraud investigation by Virginia’s Department of Medical Assistance Services.
Jones said they are trying to stabilize access by working with Newport News Fire Department and community pharmacy buses as patients search for new care options.
“One of the most important things that the government can do is to ensure that when there is a gap in coverage at the federal or state level, that is the role of local government,” Jones said. “We will do the best that we can to stand in the gap and ensure that all of our residents’ voices and cares are heard.”
Lance Johnson, the chief executive officer of Fishing Point Healthcare, said the shutdown followed a state decision to halt Medicaid payments beginning in April 2025, after what officials described as a “credible allegation of fraud.”
Johnson said he is not aware of any fraud committed by the clinic, adding that if improper billing did occur, it may have involved an individual employee or contractor.
He said the issue involves a “less than 1%” of Fishing Point’s billing tied to home health services and affects only a handful of cases.
“We feel that pending all of our payments for such a small issue is extreme. We don't feel that they would do that to a larger organization like Bon Secours or Sentara,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the state should have frozen only the payments tied to the investigation, instead of all of them, which forced the clinic to shut down.
Kedra Keith, public relations and communications manager at Department of Medical Assistance Services, said Fishing Point is under a federally-required payment suspension and is being investigated by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under the state’s Office of the Attorney General. The clinic is appealing the suspension.
“As is typical when providers decide to stop seeing Medicaid patients, DMAS is actively working to communicate with Medicaid members because they continue to have access to the services they need,” said Keith in a statement sent to WHRO.
Keith said patients can find help through Cardinal Care, part of the state Medicaid program.
Johnson said the conflict goes beyond the fraud investigation, pointing to what he described as broader dispute over how Virginia handled Medicaid payments to the tribal clinic, which was founded by the Nansemond Tribe in 2023 and now serves patients across Hampton Roads.
He said state officials had initially believed Fishing Point’s claims would be covered entirely by the federal government, and later realized Virginia still owed a share of those costs.
“They realized that there was a large amount of money owed to the federal government for the services that were rendered at Fishing Point, and they did not budget for that,” Johnson said.
