St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., has agreed to pay $516,527 to settle a federal complaint that it overbilled Medicare for prostate cancer treatments, according to a Hartford Courant report.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services claimed Saint Francis was aware of its billing errors, but failed to immediately report them or return excess reimbursements. A hospital spokesperson said the error was unintentional and resulted from a “misinterpretation of billing requirements,” according to the report.
The allegations involved the treatment of cancer patients with Lupron. Male and female patients require different dosages, but the government asserted that St. Francis used higher-paying female billing codes when seeking reimbursement for male patients from 2001-2009.
Read the Hartford Courant report on St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
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