Texas hospital investigates patient residency, income

A Dallas hospital focused on charity care has begun formal investigations into the claims made by at least 220 patients, some of whom seem to have lied about where they lived to qualify for the care they received. Parkland Memorial Hospital, which is funded by county taxes, is attempting to determine which patients defrauded the hospital about their residency or income--and it wants them to pay for their care.

In the past, the hospital didn't look too closely at a patient's statements about their income and residency, but today it has fraud investigators and sophisticated software available to track the veracity of their claims.  To date, the hospital has identified a total of 12,000 cases of potential abuse. If investigators are right, out-of-area patients have cost local taxpayers $25.2 million for patients treated at Parkland. 

To learn more about the investigation:
- read this piece in The Dallas Morning News
- and this piece from WFAA-TV in Dallas

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