The complaint, filed by a former MedStar employee, alleges the system conspired with revenue cycle vendor Accretive Health, which is now R1 RCM, to increase the number of inpatient admissions at its hospitals by changing recommended treatments for Medicare patients, according to the report.
The whistle-blower alleges the purpose of the scheme was to provide a revenue boost for MedStar.
“Accretive induced hospital administrators to override both the professional integrity of their hospitals’ own doctors and the fiscal integrity of the Medicare system,” Brad Pigott of Pigott & Johnson in Jackson, Miss., who is representing the whistle-blower, told Bloomberg BNA.
MedStar declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the system does not comment on ongoing litigation. R1 RCM did not immediately respond to Becker’s request for comment.
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