November 26, 2008
St. Vincent Health System Inc. of Erie, Pennsylvania, will pay $1.9 million to the federal government to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging overcharging of Medicare. The overcharges allegedly resulted from inflated reimbursement claims that led to “outlier” payments, payments Medicare makes when the costs of treating a patient greatly exceed the set reimbursement amount.
The suit, brought by whistleblower Anthony Kite, was not joined by the government, a fact that usually precludes success in a False Claims Act suit. Kite, who was represented by attorney Larry Zoglin of Phillips & Cohen, was also successful in an earlier non-intervened suit against St. Joseph Healthcare System.