Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
DOJ Reaches Settlements With 51 Hospitals In Final Stage Of False Claims Investigation
Another 51 hospitals will pay the government to get out from under a federal probe into the suspected overuse of implantable cardiac defibrillators. The U.S. Justice Department said the settlements announced Wednesday, which tally to $23 million, mark the 鈥渇inal stage鈥 of the far-reaching investigation. More than 500 hospitals in all have settled with the government in connection with the investigation. (Schencker, 2/17)
The U.S. Attorney's office says a Wisconsin health care network and some of its hospitals are part of a settlement over cardiac devices implanted in Medicare patients. The Department of Justice said Wednesday it has reached settlements with 51 hospitals in 15 states for more than $23 million. The settlements resolve allegations that the cardiac devices were implanted in violation of Medicare coverage requirements. (2/18)
San Francisco-based Dignity Health settled with the U.S. Department of Justice for $5.9 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they improperly billed Medicare for implantation of cardiac devices, Justice Department officials announced Wednesday. Dignity Health, and its 18 affiliated hospitals were among the most recent batch of 51 hospitals nationwide to settle with the Justice Department. In 2015, the department settled with 457 hospitals for more than $250 million. The final 51 hospitals will pay the Justice Department more than $23 million. (Albarazi, 2/17)