Illinois hospital settles Medicare fraud investigation for $1.34 million
Compliance Monitor, February 22, 2006
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Compliance Monitor!
A hospital that fraudulently received $450,000 in Medicare funds on the advice of a Kentucky consultant has agreed to pay a $1.34 million settlement, according to The State Journal Register in Springfield, IL. Officials at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln, IL, agreed to the settlement to avoid a civil lawsuit for Medicare billing fraud.
This is the fourth hospital that has faced penalties for submitting false claims based on the advice of the consultant, Dr. Stephen Burkhart of Salem, KY. The codes he allegedly advised the hospitals to use weren't supported by the patient's medical records. Burkhart has denied that he did anything illegal or unethical in his advice to the hospitals, but may eventually face criminal charges or a civil lawsuit, Rodger Heaton, U.S. attorney for the central district of Illinois told the Journal Register.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Compliance Monitor!
Related Products
-
Strategies for Health Care Compliance
News and real-life examples to increase the effectiveness of your compliance program. Strategies for Health Care Compliance...
-
Compliance Monitor
This HTML e-mail newsletter delivers news on Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse, as well as recent documents and targets...
-
Medicare Weekly Update
Each issue of Medicare Weekly Update includes the latest CMS proposed and final rules, CMS manual revisions, and...
-
Medicare Update for Physician Services
Medicare Update for Physician Services is a free, monthly e-zine that delivers news and information to help physician...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- Identify potential Medicaid RAC target areas
- HIPAA Q&A: Level of encryption needed for email
- Topic: CMS, OESS post new security compliance review information, checklist
- Capturing all necessary codes for IUD insertion and removal can be challenging
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- QA:Coding multiple initial infusions
- E-mailed
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- HIPAA Q&A: Level of encryption needed for email
- Q&A: Follow CMS' coding guidelines when using modifier -25
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- CMS has reformulated payments for some bilateral procedures
- New conflicts of interest create new challenges
- Q/A. One injection code or two?
- ED-to-inpatient transfers are flawed with safety gaps
- Searched