Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center agreed to pay more than $19.5 million to resolve civil liability after self-disclosing that it improperly billed federal healthcare programs for clinical trial costs.
The settlement resolves Moffitt's civil liability for claims that it submitted to Medicare and other federal healthcare programs from 2014 to 2020 for services that were not reimbursable under CMS' rules governing reimbursement for clinical care provided in connection with clinical research trials, according to a Jan. 4 Justice Department news release. Moffitt billed for items and services provided as part of clinical trial research that should have been billed to non-government trial sponsors.
A Moffitt spokesperson told Becker's that after discovering the incorrect billing, Moffitt worked quickly with the federal government to "ensure substantial remedial measures were taken to avoid this from happening moving forward."
"Federal government billing standards driving what can be billed to federal programs (such as Medicare) are highly complex, and compliance with these billing standards requires continuous and concerted vigilance," the spokesperson said. "Moffitt has fully redesigned its clinical research billing compliance programs to ensure adherence with all applicable federal government billing standards. Clinical research programs are a critical part of advancing cancer care. Moffitt’s clinical research programs continue to be safe and effective, and this did not affect the finances or quality of care provided to patients at Moffitt."
The Justice Department said the nonprofit cancer treatment and research center cooperated fully with the government's investigation. The federal share of the settlement is $18.2 million and Florida Medicaid's share is $1.3 million.