BioTelemetry to Pay $6.4 Million for Alleged Overbilling
BioTelemetry will pay $6.4 million to avoid a False Claims Act lawsuit over alleged overbilling of Medicare.
According to an agreement reached with the Department of Justice on Thursday, the company’s CardioNet subsidiary overcharged Medicare and other federal healthcare programs for mobile cardiac outpatient telemetry services, said the Justice Department Thursday.
MCOT monitors are used for real-time, outpatient cardiac monitoring and utilize cell phone technology to continuously transmit the data to CardioNet’s diagnostic centers. By contrast, cheaper monitors will only download patient data periodically through a landline.
The government alleged that CardioNet knew its MCOT services were not eligible for Medicare reimbursement for patients experiencing mild or moderate heart palpitations, since less expensive monitors are sufficient in those instances, but the firm submitted Medicare claims for MCOT services nonetheless.
The settlement is part of the government’s larger efforts to combat healthcare fraud and abuse, as outlined in the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team initiative. Since launching the initiative in 2009, DOJ has recovered more than $15.2 billion for FCA infractions.
The agreement did not require a determination of liability. — Jason Scott
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