Louisville, Ky.-based Baptist Health System and one of its hospitals have agreed to pay nearly $9 million to the government to settle claims of improper Medicare billing, according to a Courier-Journal report.
Baptist agreed to pay $5.79 million and its subsidiary, Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown, Ky., agreed to pay $3.12 million.
The government claims that, from 2001-2006, Baptist and Hardin improperly billed Medicare by billing for serious conditions that resulted in higher reimbursements than warranted by the actual conditions of patients treated. The codes generally related to respiratory infections and inflammations, blood infections and other respiratory and pulmonary conditions, according to the report.
Baptist Healthcare System and Hardin Memorial Hospital made no admission of liability. The money must be paid by Sept. 1.
Read the Courier-Journal report on Baptist Health System and Hardin Memorial Hospital.
Related Articles on Hospital Settlements:
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California’s El Centro Regional to Pay $1.1M After Self-Reporting Improper Billing Related to Excluded Employees
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