Whistleblower Claims Florida's Boca Raton Regional Hospital Bilked Medicare

A whistleblower has accused Boca Raton (Fla.) Regional Hospital of intentionally overbilling Medicare by at least $2 million, according to a Palm Beach Post report.

In the suit, former hospital employee Jeannette Lavoie claims BRRH administrators purposely used the wrong billing codes and submitted more than 600 fraudulent claims from July 2006-Jan. 2008. Ms. Lavoie, who was director of case management, claims she brought her concerns to hospital administrators. They allegedly refused to resubmit bills and "expressed confidence auditors wouldn't uncover the mistakes," according to the report.

The hospital's attorney denied the allegations, saying the claims are "from a former employee who is looking for money" and who has no knowledge of the hospital's billing, according to the report.

The estimated total overbilling has ranged from $8 million to $2 million. Lavoie's attorney says this figure will "become clear as the hospital turns over records," according to the report.

Related Articles on Hospitals and Overbilling:

OIG: Cleveland Clinic Received Nearly $254k in Medicare Overpayments
New Milford Hospital in Connecticut Settles Overbilling Charges
Kentucky's Jewish Hospital Settles Charges of Improper Medicare Billing


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