COLUMBIA: MORE STATES BEGIN INVESTIGATIONS
"Seven more states have begin preliminary investigationsThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
into Columbia/HCA's billing of state-administered Medicaid
programs, bringing to 10 the number of state investigations into
the hospital giant," USA Today reports. Officials in California,
Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Utah, and Virginia
announced that they are investigating "Medicaid billing practices
at Columbia facilities in their states." However, they "declined
to elaborate." USA Today reports that Florida, Texas and Alabama
have already launched investigations into Columbia. Click here
for more information on the state investigations (Lowry, 8/18).
MORE TO COME
The three Columbia executives indicted on federal charges
will be arranged in Florida tomorrow. USA Today reports that the
"court records connected with the case offer hints at the
expansion of the government's Medicare fraud probe." The seized
documents reportedly reveal a "pattern showing complicated
business arrangements." Peter Young, a health care consultant
who has reviewed the search warrant records, said, "It is an
indication of the sophisticated structure of business
relationships that appears to maximize costs for maximizing
reimbursement from programs such as Medicare and Medicaid"
(Woodyard, 8/18).