By Emily Garcia |
Staff writer
UPDATED
Augusta University Medical Center (AUMC) agreed to settle with the United States, Georgia and South Carolina to resolve allegations of AUMC submitting false claims to several government-funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
According to the release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, AUMC violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to federal healthcare programs for a procedure that was not covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
The release also stated that from the early stages of the government’s investigation AUMC cooperated and committed to corrective actions for the alleged misconduct.
Associate Vice President of Communications for AUMC Christen Engel commented, “In late 2018, we were informed of irregularities in Medicare billing and immediately began an internal investigation. We subsequently learned of the federal government’s investigation and cooperated fully. We discovered that we had, in fact, billed for services that were not appropriate. We have corrected gaps in our policies and procedures to prevent such irregularities from reoccurring. We want to thank the US Attorney’s Office for their willingness to work closely with us to reach this agreement.”
U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine stated in the release that “AUMC should be commended for its response to the government investigation. From the outset, AUMC was cooperative with the government’s investigation and took proactive remedial steps.”
The claims resolved by this settlement agreement of $2.6 million are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability, according to the statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
For more information contact emgarcia@augusta.edu