Boston-based Tufts Medical Center is expected to repay $1.09 million to the federal government after a second audit from the HHS Office of Inspector General found the 415-bed hospital had billing errors within its inpatient claims.
Previously, the OIG reviewed Tufts and said the hospital incorrectly billed Medicare inpatient short stays and same-day discharges in 2009 and 2010. However, the OIG's previous report needed "further evaluation" on the inpatient claims, which resulted in this most recent report.
The agency said Tufts only complied on nine of the 117 inpatient claims reviewed, resulting in $1.09 million in Medicare overpayments. Most errors involved claims that should have been billed as outpatient or observation, the OIG said.
Tufts officials disagreed with the OIG's findings and plan on appealing the issue.
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