Compliance News Roundup: Ambulance Services

1. Rio Grande Valley Area Doctor Charged in Illegal Kickback Scheme - McALLEN, Texas ‐ A Rio Grande Valley area doctor has been taken into custody for his scheme to solicit and obtain illegal kickbacks in exchange for Medicare patient referrals, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Read more here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/rio-grande-valley-area-doctor-charged-illegal-kickback-scheme

2. University Of Pennsylvania Health System Agrees To Settle Voluntary Disclosure Of Improper Medicare Billing For Unnecessary Stent Procedures - The United States announces that it has settled allegations under the False Claims Act with the University of Pennsylvania Health System (“UPHS”) for improperly billing Medicare for stent procedures two interventional cardiologists performed at Pennsylvania Hospital between 2008 and 2012. UPHS voluntarily disclosed the allegations to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and has agreed to pay $845,000 to resolve the matter. The cardiologists no longer work at Pennsylvania Hospital. Read more here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/university-pennsylvania-health-system-agrees-settle-voluntary-disclosure-improper

3. Deeper Than The Headlines: Ambulance Services - A couple weeks ago, Medstar Ambulance Inc. settled False Claims Act allegations with the government for $12.7 million. The allegations were first brought to the attention of the government through a former billing office employee who filed a qui tam (i.e., whistleblower) lawsuit under the False Claims Act. The complaint filed in court alleged many different ways in which Medstar submitted false claims associated with ambulance services. In this installment of the Deeper Than The Headlines series, I’ll dive deep into the false claims allegations so you can protect your own organization from potential issues. Read more here: Deeper Than the Headlines: Ambulance Services