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Published Mon, Apr 04, 2011 12:36 PM
Modified Mon, Apr 04, 2011 02:36 PM

Rex to pay $1.9M to settle claims of false Medicare paperwork

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By Lynn Bonner - Staff writer

Tags: Rex Healthcare | Medicare claims | settlement

Raleigh -- Rex Healthcare has agreed to pay the United States more than $1.9 million to settle an allegation that it submitted false claims to Medicare, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The government alleges that the hospital submitted claims for minimally invasive procedures from 2004-2007, classifying them as inpatient admissions to get more money.

The allegations arise from a whistleblower lawsuit filed in Buffalo, N.Y. related to a procedure that treats spinal fractures called kyphoplasty.

The Justice Department has settled with 26 hospitals in nine states over the improper kyphoplasty claims, according to the whistleblowers' lawyer, Timothy McCormack.

The settlement with Rex involves claims related to a variety of other minimally invasive procedures that the hospital improperly classified as inpatient admissions to get more money, the Justice Department said.

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