Baylor to Pay $900K for False Medicare Claims

DALLAS (CN) - Baylor University Medical Center will pay $900,000 to settle claims that it tried to defraud the government with radiation oncology charges, prosecutors said.

The Dallas-based hospital, Baylor Health Care System and HealthTexas Provider Network made the claims to Medicare, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services, and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program from 2006 to 2010, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

"Baylor double billed Medicare for several procedures affiliated with radiation treatment plans; billed for certain high reimbursement radiation oncology services when a different, less expensive service should have been billed; billed for procedures without supporting documentation in the medical record; and improperly billed for radiation treatment delivery without corroboration of physician supervision," prosecutors said in a statement.

The services included intensity modulated radiation therapy, a sophisticated radiation treatment for specific types of cancer that uses extreme precision to spare patients' surrounding organs or healthy tissue.

Baylor insists patient care was not compromised, the Dallas Morning News reported.

"The issue we resolved with the government was over billing," Baylor said in a statement. "Absolutely no patients were harmed and we have consistently maintained that there was appropriate physician supervision."

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