Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital did not comply with 35 claims out of 136 inpatient and outpatient claims that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed. The billing errors--associated with incorrect discharge status, incorrect DRGs, no-cost replacements of medical devices, inaccurate common procedure coding and non-covered implantable automatic cardiac defibrillators--resulted in net overpayments totaling nearly $83,000, according to the report summary released last week.
The more than 1,000-bed teaching hospital received $563 million in total Medicare payments from 2008 and 2010. Medicare overpaid on those 35 claims because the hospital didn't have adequate controls to prevent errors and didn't fully understand billing requirements, OIG found. Tampa General Hospital concurred with OIG's findings, refunded the full amount and said it's committed to compliance and strengthening billing controls. Report (.pdf)