Palmetto Health Baptist, a 489-bed hospital in Columbia, S.C., will refund $74,903 to Medicare after the HHS Office of Inspector General found incorrect claims for kwashiorkor.
Kwashiorkor is a form of severe protein malnutrition that mostly affects children in famine-stricken areas and developing countries. Kwashiorkor is not common in the U.S., but Medicare still provides reimbursement for its treatment.
Palmetto Health Baptist is the third hospital this year the OIG has found to have erroneous kwashiorkor claims. The other two were Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, and Christus Saint Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, N.M.
Overall, the OIG found 51 claims at Palmetto Health Baptist that were incorrectly billed using the diagnosis code for kwashiorkor when a different code for less payment should've been used. The hospital agreed with the OIG's findings, but officials argued that two of the claims resulted in no payment difference. However, the agency stood by its findings.
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