After allegedly collecting Medicaid reimbursement as a Level 1 pediatric-intensive care provider, despite not qualifying for such a status, Marrero, LA's West Jefferson Medical Center will now pay the federal government and the state of Louisiana $3.3 million. According to a lawyer representing the 307-bed public hospital, West Jefferson agreed to the amount because "it could ill afford to challenge the allegations in the extremely difficult financial environment that providers face in the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina."

According to Modern Healthcare, the settlement agreement states that the alleged overpayments were made from 1998 to 2003. Peter Butler Jr., an attorney for the hospital, added that the agreement means West Jefferson is "without any concession or admission of liability." An ex-nurse who filed the whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act is supposed to receive $627,000 of the $3.3 million.

For more information:
- read this Modern Healthcare article [1]

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