EMH Regional Medical Center and North Ohio Heart Center to Pay U.S. $4.4 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations | WPN World People News

EMH Regional Medical Center (EMH) has agreed to pay the United States $3,863,857, and North Ohio Heart Center Inc. (NOHC) has agreed to pay the United States $541,870 to settle allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced Monday.

EMH is a non-profit community hospital system located in Lorain County, Ohio. During the relevant time period, NOHC was an independent physician group located in Lorain County that practiced at EMH. The settlement resolves allegations that between 2001 and 2006, EMH and NOHC performed unnecessary cardiac procedures on Medicare patients. Specifically, the United States alleged that EMH and NOHC performed angioplasty and stent placement procedures on patients who had heart disease but whose blood vessels were not sufficiently occluded to require the particular procedures at issue.

“Billing Medicare for cardiac procedures that are not necessary or appropriate contributes to the soaring costs of health care and puts patients at risk. The settlement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s efforts both to protect public funds and safeguard Medicare beneficiaries,” said Stuart F. Delery, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

“Most doctors act responsibly,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “These few didn’t. Patient health and taxpayer dollars have to come before greed.”

This matter was initiated by the filing of a whistleblower complaint under the False Claims Act (FCA). Under the FCA, private citizens can bring suit for false claims on behalf of the United States and receive a share of the recovery obtained by the government. The whistleblower in this matter, Kenny Loughner, was the former manager of EMH’s catheterization and electrophysiology laboratory. As a result of the settlement, Mr. Loughner will receive $660,859 of the United States’ recovery.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice