CardioExchange Archive

August 30th, 2012

ICD Investigation: DOJ Sends Resolution Model to Hospitals

Larry Husten, PHD

Hospitals across the country received emails from the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday containing a proposed “Resolution Model” that will allow the hospitals to begin to settle the long-standing and much-feared DOJ investigation into improper Medicare billing for ICDs. The action appears to confirm an article, published earlier in August in Report on Medicare Compliance, that summarized the […]

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August 8th, 2012

Feds Turn Corner in ICD Investigation, Hospital Liability Divided into Categories

wpengine

The DOJ has a blueprint for determining liability in its false Medicare false claims investigation involving defibrillator procedures, according to the Report on Medicare Compliance.

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August 7th, 2012

NY Times: HCA Concealed Significant Problems at Lucrative Cardiac Centers

Larry Husten, PHD

Despite numerous internal reviews that turned up a widespread pattern of unnecessary cardiology procedures being performed at many of its hospitals, the giant HCA corporation did little to rein in the problem or to inform regulators, payers, or patients about it, according to an investigative report in the New York Times by Reed Abelson and Julie Creswell. […]

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August 6th, 2012

DOJ Investigating Interventional Cardiology Services at HCA

Larry Husten, PHD

The hospital giant HCA has disclosed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami is investigating the company and has “requested information on reviews assessing the medical necessity of interventional cardiology services provided at any Company facility (other than peer reviews).” Following its own preliminary investigation, the company said it was aware of such reviews in about 10 […]

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May 12th, 2012

HRS 2012: More Clarity on DOJ ICD Investigation, ‘Incidental PCIs’ Still Excluded

Edward J. Schloss, MD

Thursday morning at Heart Rhythm Scientific Sessions 2012, Suneet Mittal MD of Columbia University gave a detailed account of his group’s experience with a Department of Justice investigation of ICD implantation outside of NCD guidelines.  The talk served to amplify and clarify points made in his perspective in JACC written with Jonathan Steinberg MD, in March 2012. Not long […]

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