Genesis Medical Center in Davenport has agreed to settle charges that it over-billed for some Medicare patients. On Tuesday, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa announced the agreement to resolve allegations the hospital violated the False Claims Act.
Genesis will pay 1.9 million dollars.
Federal authorities say for four years, 2013 through 2016, Genesis improperly retained Medicare over-payments for hospital in-patient admissions, when those claims should have been billed at the lower rate for either outpatient or observation services.
Vice-President of legal affairs Paul Bollinger says Genesis cooperated with the investigation and agreed to the settlement to avoid costly litigation. He emphasizes, "the settlement is not an admission of error."
Bollinger also says, "The admissions in questions make up less than one percent of admissions during the four year period. And Genesis was not cited for deficient patient care."
