Houston-based Ben Taub Hospital, part of Harris Health System, has refunded more than $876,000 to Medicare after an audit from the HHS Office of Inspector General found the hospital incorrectly billed for outpatient dental services.
The OIG reviewed 344 Medicare claims from the 586-bed Ben Taub Hospital, which were sent out between January 2010 and December 2011. The audit found the claims were not eligible for Medicare reimbursement because they were not performed as part of procedure or service covered by Medicare, including cancer or physical trauma diagnoses.
Of the claims reviewed, the OIG said Ben Taub Hospital must return almost $819,000 to the government. Hospital officials agreed, and they also found an additional $57,377 that was claimed in error, which they returned.
Last year, the OIG flagged another Texas hospital for inappropriate Medicare billing of outpatient dental services. Parkland Hospital in Dallas had to return more than $743,000 for similar errors.
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