Federal Suit Dismissed Against Md. Hospital
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A federal judge has dismissed an $8.1 million suit against a Baltimore hospital accused of improperly billing Medicare, Medicaid and a military health benefit program.
The lawsuit accused Kernan Hospital of manipulating a computer billing system so that it appeared patients had a severe form of malnutrition.
U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett said in his ruling that the government failed to show that fraudulent diagnoses were submitted for payment. Vickie LeDuc, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said Friday that prosecutors were considering whether to appeal or file an amended complaint.
The University of Maryland Medical System, which owns the hospital, had previously said it did not agree with the government's findings and had been in discussions with prosecutors regarding how it coded patients with malnutrition.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
