Federal settlement resolves allegations involving improper Medicare payments at Ohio treatment facilities.
Oglethorpe Inc., a Florida-based company that runs psychiatric hospitals, agreed to pay $32 million to settle claims related to Medicare overpayments at several of its Ohio mental health treatment centers. Federal officials said the company and several of its top executives failed to repay money connected to patients who allegedly did not qualify for inpatient psychiatric treatment under Medicare rules.
The settlement also includes company founder Robert Cohen, chief executive officer John Picciano, and chief operating officer James O’Shea. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the alleged conduct took place from 2021 through this year and involved two psychiatric hospitals and one substance abuse treatment center in Ohio.
Federal investigators said company consultants had already identified the overpayments internally, but the money was not returned to Medicare as required. The facilities named in the case were Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital, Georgetown Behavioral Hospital, and The Woods at Parkside. Authorities claimed some patients admitted to those facilities did not meet the standards needed for inpatient psychiatric care, meaning Medicare should not have paid the claims.
The agreement resolves allegations brought under the False Claims Act, which is a federal law often used in fraud cases, like this one, involving government programs. The law allows the...
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