Cornerstone Hospital of Huntington, WV, will pay $690,000 to settle a whistleblower suit brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Two former employees alleged that the hospital, a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH), submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. LTCHs are specialty care hospitals for extended-stay patients with chronic conditions. The qui tam complaint alleged that Cornerstone billed for supplies and services not rendered, unbundled services, submitted duplicate claims, billed for supplies and services rendered without a physician’s order, billed for supplies and services without regard to medical necessity, and billed for services rendered by unqualified providers.