Soon after for-profit Prime took over Shasta Regional in 2008, California Watch reported the hospital billed Medicare for more than 1,100 cases of kwashiorkor, a severe form of malnutrition most commonly seen among children in famine-stricken areas and developing countries.
Kwashiorkor commands higher payments from Medicare, and during the height of the hospital’s billing of the disorder, which was 70 times the state average, the hospital received $6.9 million in extra payments, according to the report.
Prime said in a statement that its billing practices were legal and accurate, and the sudden drop of kwashiorkor claims resulted from “certain changes in Medicare coding guidelines” related to malnutrition in elderly patients, according to the report.
More Articles on Prime Healthcare and Billing:
California Lawmakers Hold Hearing Over Prime’s Billing Practices
FBI Interviews Prime Hospital Patient About Malnutrition Billing
Former Prime Coders Say FBI is Probing California Chain’s Billing Practices
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