Alex Beall
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Children’s Hospital is paying $12.9 million to resolve allegations of fraud.
The Department of Justice announced that the hospital, Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) and its affiliates violated the False Claims Act by submitting false cost reports to contractors of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The false reporting alleged in today’s settlement deprived the Medicare Trust Fund of millions of taxpayers’ dollars,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division in a statement. “Such conduct wastes critical federal health care program funds and drives up the costs of health care for all of us.”
“The integrity of federal health care programs depends on honest and accurate reporting from the hospitals and other health care providers that receive hundreds of billions of tax dollars every year,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia. “This settlement demonstrates our commitment to defending the integrity of the system and ensuring that taxpayer money goes to meet the most critical health care needs.”
According to the statement, CNMC fasly reported their available bed count and overhead costs. The reports determine how much money the hospital is reimbursed from Medicare, Medicaid and a program that funds children’s hospitals graduate medical programs.
False reports result in overpayment from the federal agencies.
CNMC said in a statement that the allegations did not affect patient care.
“Consistent with our commitment to compliance and transparency, and with the full support of our Board, we actively cooperated with the government to bring the matter to a prompt and responsible resolution,” said Kurt Newman, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of CNMC in a statement. “We move forward with the continued dedication to providing the high quality care that our patients and their families expect and deserve.”
The allegations are based on accounts from a former CNMC employee, James A. Roark, Sr. He initially brought the lawsuit, before the U.S. became involved. Roark will receive $1,890,649.98.
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