by Ben Vernia | October 20th, 2014
On October 16, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York announced that Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital in Binghamton had paid over $3.37 million to resolve self-disclosed violations of the false claims for hyperbaric oxygen services provided by a third party. According to the U.S. Attorney’s press release:
– Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, Inc. (Lourdes), a
242-bed hospital located in Binghamton, New York, has paid $3,373,898.28 to resolve False
Claims Act liability stemming from Medicare billing improprieties that the hospital selfdisclosed
to the federal government, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.During the course of an internal review, Lourdes determined that from February 2008
through September 2013, it had improperly billed and was thus overpaid by the Medicare
program for hyperbaric oxygen therapy services rendered by a third party in a facility that failed
to satisfy the requirements for “provider-based status” set forth in federal regulations. The
hospital promptly took corrective steps to remedy the problem and then brought its findings to
the government’s attention. Due in large part to Lourdes’s decision to self-disclose these issues
and its cooperation throughout the government’s investigation, the hospital was required to pay
far less than the treble damages and penalties that the United States is authorized to seek under
the False Claims Act. Furthermore, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of
Inspector General (HHS-OIG) decided that Lourdes would not have to enter into a corporate
integrity agreement or adopt other compliance measures.* * *
