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A civil lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in St. Louis accuses the therapy provider RehabCare Group Inc. of paying more than $10 million in kickbacks to gain access to nursing home Medicare and Medicaid patients.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that suburban St. Louis-based RehabCare is accused of a revenue-sharing agreement with nursing home chain owner Health Systems Inc. that defrauded Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Federal investigators say RehabCare crafted an illegal arrangement with Health Systems of Sikeston, Mo., and its affiliate Rehab Systems that included a one-time, $600,000 payment and an ongoing 30 percent cut of federally financed therapy services.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay is asking the city’s Convention and Visitors Commission to reject the Rams’ request for $700 million in upgrades to the Edward Jones Dome.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the team is on its way out of town.

Speaking on St. Louis on the Air, Slay said the Ram’s requests was a “best-case scenario” for the team, and did not reflect a take-it-or-leave-it offer.

The city’s plan calls for upgrades totaling $124 million—a figure which Slays says is a starting point for further negotiations.

Missouri state and local officials are looking for ways to maintain the state’s transportation infrastructure during a climate of limited funds.

The so-called "Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Missouri Transportation Needs" met in Chesterfield and will hold similar meetings around the state this spring and summer. 

MoDOT District Engineer Ed Hassinger says the agency has roughly half the money to spend that it did just several years ago.

"So the things that aren’t going to get done are major improvements that do things for economic development, reduce congestion, and improve safety and we’re just not going to have the money to do some of those things," he said.