New York Hospital Agrees to Pay $11.75 Million to Settle Overbilling Allegations

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has announced that Lenox Hill Hospital will pay $11.75 million dollars to settle a civil health care fraud lawsuit.

The federal government accused Lenox Hospital of fraudulently inflating its charges for services provided to Medicare patients in order to obtain higher supplemental reimbursements that Medicare pays to health care providers in cases where the cost of care is unusually high.  Specifically, between February 2002 and August 2003, the hospital raised room and board charges and manipulated its overall charge structure to make it appear as if the treatment given to certain patients was unusually costly when, in fact, it was not.  As a result, the hospital received Medicare payments it would not have otherwise obtained.

In announcing the settlement, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York stated that his office would remain vigilant in protecting the integrity of the Medicare program and recovering taxpayer funds from health care institutions that fail to comply with Medicare regulations.

Lenox Hospital is to pay the amount required under the settlement by May 14, 2012.

For more information, please see:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/may12/lenoxhillsettlement.html

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