Federal judge dismisses $15M false claims case

By: Compliance Monitor September 26th, 2008 Email This Post Print This Post

A federal judge recently granted a summary for dismissal in the case that alleged East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System of submitting false claims to Medicaid, according to the legal journal The Southeast Texas Record.
 
The lawsuit alleged East Texas Medical Center (ETMC) Athens, located in Athens TX, illegally submitted claims for additional reimbursement under the intergovernmental transfer program which applies to public rural hospital.
 
The judge decided ETMC is  a private hospital and should not have received additional reimbursement from the intergovernmental transfers, but the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals (TORCH) told ETMC it was qualified. Because ETMC relied on the advice it received from TORCH, the judge decided ETMC did not knowingly submit a false claim and therefore cannot be in violation of the False Claims Act.
 
To read The Southeast Texas Record article click here.
 

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