Technology saves Medicare millions; Omnicare settles kickback allegations;

News From Around the Web

> Anti-fraud technology stopped more than $210 million in Medicare overpayments in fiscal 2013, the Washington Times reported. This was double the amount saved through billing pattern analysis in its first year of use. As a result, the government acted against 938 providers and suppliers. Article

> Cincinnati-based Omnicare Inc., the nation's largest nursing home pharmacy provider, agreed to pay $124.24 million for reportedly offering inappropriate financial incentives to facilities to choose Omnicare as their drug supplier for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Announcement

> A Philadelphia ambulance company co-owner was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison for participating in a scheme that defrauded Medicare of more than $2.4 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Announcement

Healthcare News

> After five years of slow employer healthcare spending growth, experts predict medical inflation across the United States will rise to 6.8 percent in 2015, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Article

> Hospitals for critically ill patients and long-term recovery facilities aren't a place many doctors and policymakers think of. But as the American population aged, long-term acute care spending grew to about $26 billion a year across the country, with about 380,000 patients in these facilities, according to the New York Times. Article

And Finally... Teen carjackers foiled by stick shift. Article