Doctors Hospital of Augusta (Ga.), LLC, has agreed to pay $1.02 million to resolve allegations that it submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Tricare, The Augusta Chronicle reports.
The claims were for certain radiation oncology procedures allegedly performed without the requisite level of physician supervision, according to a July 8 announcement from the U.S. Justice Department.
"We believe Doctors Hospital of Augusta followed all appropriate radiation oncology supervisory protocols and procedures existing at the time in question and worked diligently to provide the government information related to this situation," Lindsay Thetford, the digital media and communications manager at Doctors Hospital, said in a statement published in the newspaper.
Just last week in another false claims settlement case, 55 hospitals in 21 states agreed to pay the U.S. a total of more than $34 million to settle allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare for kyphoplasty procedures.
"Whenever hospitals knowingly overcharge Medicare, critically needed resources are wasted and health costs are driven up," Daniel R. Levinson, inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, said in the announcement about the latter suit. "When taxpayers' dollars are threatened, OIG and its federal partners will take action."
To learn more:
- read The Augusta Chronicle article
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