Stand and deliver

The US Department of Justice is targeting 4,700 hospitals in a high-profile investigation into Medicare billing errors. A hospital gets a letter from the government, citing fraud and abuse provisions of the False Claims Act, which threatens huge penalties. The letter offers a settlement that require...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTrustee Vol. 51; no. 7; p. 7
Main Author Mitchel, M
Format Magazine Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Health Forum Inc 01.07.1998
Subjects
American Hospital Association
Billings
Conflicts
Federal regulation
Financial Management, Hospital - legislation & jurisprudence
Fines & penalties
Fraud
Fraud - legislation & jurisprudence
Government agencies
Guideline Adherence
Health administration
Hospitals
Insurance Claim Reporting - legislation & jurisprudence
Legislators
Medicare
Medicare - economics
Medicare - legislation & jurisprudence
Politics
Settlements & damages
Trustees
United States
United States
United States > US
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Summary:The US Department of Justice is targeting 4,700 hospitals in a high-profile investigation into Medicare billing errors. A hospital gets a letter from the government, citing fraud and abuse provisions of the False Claims Act, which threatens huge penalties. The letter offers a settlement that requires an admission of guilt to receive a reduced claim. If the hospital does not settle, it faces immediate prosecution, including fines up to $10,000 plus triple damages for each disputed claim. The message trustees must get to the government is that hospitals do not and will not tolerate fraud. Medicare billing errors do happen. But mistakes are not fraud. Errors result from the tremendous volume of claims and the many confusing and conflicting federal regulations governing those claims.
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ISSN:0041-3674
1943-5134