Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, Davenport, Iowa-based Genesis Health System and Mercy Health Network have agreed to pay more than $4.64 million to resolve allegations that Genesis overbilled the federal government for its use of the Impella heart pump device.
The organizations agreed to pay the settlement after voluntarily disclosing that Genesis overused the Impella device and submitted resulting overbilling claims between April 2016 and March 2022. The settlement was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Herrera of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
In a statement shared with Becker’s, MercyOne Genesis said it identified the potential billing issues through its internal compliance processes, voluntarily disclosed the matter to the federal government and fully cooperated with the review.
“MercyOne Genesis takes its responsibility for accurate billing and the trust placed in us by our patients and communities very seriously,” the health system said. “Through our internal processes, we identified potential billing issues, voluntarily disclosed them to the government, and fully cooperated with the review.”
The health system said it has taken corrective actions to address the issue and continues to strengthen its oversight and compliance practices to improve billing accuracy and consistency.
In March 2023, Genesis joined West Des Moines, Iowa-based MercyOne, a 19-hospital system that was acquired by Trinity in September 2022.
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