Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corp., parent company of Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Regional Hospital, will pay $3.8 million in fines to settle allegations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, reports WTRF 7, a CBS affiliate.
Although the three organizations did not officially admit to liability, the health system agreed to the hefty fines for Stark Law violations from 2005 to 2010, according to the Wheeling Intelligencer. The compensation agreements between the hospitals and the local physicians were improper, according to U.S. Attorney General William Ihlenfeld, in an Associated Press article.
"Illegal agreements like these drive up the cost of health care, and in the end, we all pay for it in the form of higher taxes," he said.
Along with the fines, the three organizations also are required to cooperate with an ongoing investigation into other individuals for possible violations, according to the WTRF article.
Last week, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force arrested and charged 91 people in eight cities for false billing schemes worth $295 million, as the largest takedown in the Force's history. The close scrutiny of the Ohio Valley hospitals, compounded with federal level crackdown, may sound a loud signal to the nation that state and federal officials will be closely examining the validity of Medicare and Medicaid claims.
For more information:
- read the Intelligencer article
- watch the WTRF 7 report
- read the AP article
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