DOJ JOINS Whistleblower suits against 3 hospitals
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced its collaboration with three whistleblowers in two lawsuits against three New Jersey hospitals. The lawsuits allege that Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, Barnert Hospital in Paterson and Bayonne Hospital in Bayonne fraudulently inflated their charges to Medicare patients to obtain enhanced reimbursement from Medicare. Soon after announcing its action, the justice department announced that it agreed to settle for $2.5 million, plus interest, allegations that Bayonne NJ Medical Center defrauded the Medicare program. The settlement is with IJKG, LLC, the buyer of the hospital. Bayonne Medical Center is currently in bankruptcy, department officials said.
CMS announces recoveries from RAC program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced last month that it will recover $371.5 million in Medicare payments made improperly last year to healthcare providers and suppliers in California, Florida and New York. The improper payments were discovered by the CMS Recovery Audit Contractor demonstration now operating in New York, Massachusetts, Florida, South Carolina and California. According to CMS, the RAC demonstration program, mandated under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, is designed to find and correct improper Medicare payments paid to healthcare providers participating in Medicare fee-for-service programs.
Construction expected to reach $60 billion by 2010
Spending on hospital and health facility construction is rising at a record pace and could exceed $60 billion annually by 2010, according to a report released last month. Construction by 2010 is expected to double the amount spent in 2004, according to “Construction Trends and Capital Implications,” issued by the Healthcare Financial Management Association and GE Healthcare Financial Services. However, such projects face long timelines, and many facilities face a variety of factors in implementing construction initiatives, the report said. As a result, from the time a plan is begun until the project is completed, the facilities’ modalities could be outdated, the report said. Hospitals also are taking steps to become more environmentally responsive, the report said.