Sarasota, Tampa hospitals settle federal false claims cases

Hospitals in Sarasota, Tampa and Naples reached settlements to resolve allegations related to false claims to Medicare for procedures related to spinal pain.

Federal authorities, in a Dec. 18 statement, announced 32 hospitals spread through 15 states agreed to settlements in the case that totaled $28 million. Six of those hospitals are on the Gulf Coast, with settlements worth more than $4.5 million, according to the statement.

The procedure in the investigation, kyphoplasty, is “a minimally-invasive procedure used to treat certain spinal fractures that often are due to osteoporosis,” according to the statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the statement, hospitals frequently billed Medicare for the procedures on an inpatient basis, which is more costly than an outpatient basis, to increase Medicare billings.

Florida hospitals that settled cases include:

• Sarasota Memorial Hospital, which agreed to pay $972,000;
• Tampa General Hospital, which agreed to pay $2 million;
• Five hospitals formerly owned and operated by Naples-based Health Management Associates, which agreed to pay $2 million. Tennessee-based Community Health Associates acquired HMA in January 2014. Those five hospitals include Physicians Regional Medical Center in Naples.;
• Three hospitals affiliated with BayCare Health System in Clearwater, which agreed to pay $1.5 million. Those hospitals are Winter Haven Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa and St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg;
• Citrus Memorial Health System in Inverness, which agreed to pay $2.6 million;
• Martin Memorial Medical Center in Stuart, which agreed to pay $2 million;

The Justice Department, according to the statement, has now reached settlements with more than 130 hospitals for about $105 million.