University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals plans to fight a recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) report claiming the system overbilled Medicare for inpatient and outpatient services between 2011 and 2012. The audit reviewed a sample of 251 claims totaling more than $3.5 million from Jan. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012. The OIG found that 59 of those claims did not comply with Medicare billing requirement, which resulted in nearly $500,000 in overpayments, which the agency extrapolated to an estimated $2.5 million. UNC Hospitals said that it has planned actions related to just three incorrectly billed claims but disagreed with the OIG's assessment on the remaining 56. The medical system says it intends to appeal the findings and alleged that the OIG's sample selection "violated legal due process standards and valid statistical methods." Report (.pdf)