The Anne Arundel Medical Center has reached a settlement over allegations that they billed Medicare and other federal insurers for services that weren’t medically necessary.
The medical center will pay the federal government $3.154 million over the allegations that they violated the federal False Claims Act, the office of Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur said in a statement.
“Companies that submit false bills to the government must be held accountable. The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to taking the steps necessary to protect Medicare and other federal health care programs from fraud, and abuse and recover taxpayers’ money,” Hur said.
The medical center charged Medicare, Tricare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for services that weren’t necessary between 2010 and 2017, according to the settlement.
Specifically, the center billed the insurance agencies for evaluation and management services every time they performed a blood test on patients who took Coumadin or other blood-thinners. Those services weren’t always necessary and, after 2014, were included in the testing, the statement said.
“The settlement is not an admission of liability by AAMC, nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded,” the statement said.
The medical center will also enter into a five-year agreement with the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services to review any risks regarding compliance, as well as undergo training and monitoring.
The government’s suit was brought by a whistleblower who used to work at the medical center; she will get $473,100 under the settlement.
