Minnesota Hospitals to Pay U.S. $2.28 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations
Excerpt
WASHINGTON – Three HealthEast Care System hospitals have agreed to pay the United States $2.28 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. All three hospitals are located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., area. The settlement resolves allegations that the St. Paul-based hospitals overcharged Medicare from 2002 to 2007 by thousands of dollars each time they performed kyphoplasty, a minimally-invasive procedure used to treat certain spinal fractures that often are due to osteoporosis. The procedure can be performed safely as an outpatient surgery, but the government contends that the HealthEast hospitals performed the procedure on an inpatient basis in order to increase their Medicare billings. "T