A 165-bed acute care hospital in Imperial County, CA, has settled a quitam lawsuit alleging that it defrauded Medicare.  In announcing the $2.2 million settlement, the government alleged that the El Centro Regional Medical Center had inflated its charges to Medicare patients, resulting in larger reimbursements to the hospital. In particular, the hospital charged patients for short inpatient admissions when the services were actually for outpatient or emergency room visits.

$375,000 of the settlement will go to Pietro Ingrade, a former hospital employee who was the whistleblower in this case. The investigation and settlement were the result of collaboration among the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, OIG-HHS, and the FBI.

El Centro Regional Medical Center is also required to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement, which subjects the hospital to strict oversight to ensure compliance with federal health care fund policies and procedures.

Read the entire article, “Southern California Medical Center to Pay U.S. $2.2 Million to Resolve Fraud Allegations”