The HHS Office of Inspector General has released two reports that showed two hospitals erroneously billed Medicare, resulting in overpayments.
The Nebraska Medical Center, a 627-bed teaching hospital in Omaha, did not comply with 18 percent of sampled claims, which led to $319,731 in overpaid Medicare reimbursements. Errors occurred for both inpatient and outpatient claims.
Nebraska Medical Center officials agreed with most of the OIG's findings but questioned the OIG's audit involving eight inpatient claims. The OIG said those claims should've been billed as outpatient, but the hospital disagreed. The agency stood by its findings, and the hospital is expected to repay the full amount.
The OIG also found Butler (Pa.) Memorial Hospital, the 288-bed flagship of Butler Health System, incorrectly billed Medicare for kwashiorkor treatments. Kwashiorkor is a form of severe protein malnutrition that mostly affects children in famine-stricken areas and developing countries. The OIG said the hospital should've used other codes for malnutrition instead of kwashiorkor, and Butler is expected to repay $130,370 related to those claims. Hospital officials agreed with the OIG's audit.
Butler is the most recent hospital to be involved in the OIG's kwashiorkor probes. WellSpan York (Pa.) Hospital, Palmetto Health Baptist in Columbia, S.C., and three others have similarly been audited.
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