government
Medical supplier pays $5 million to settle Medicaid fraud claims
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 19, 2011
Shield Healthcare, a California medical supply provider, has paid $5 million to the government and California to resolve a lawsuit alleging that the company submitted inflated bills to the state's Medicaid program.
Shield, the largest supplier to the state of incontinence supplies such as adult diapers and waterproof sheeting, was accused of providing false claims in violation of a regulation designed to eliminate excessive markups charged to the Medi-Cal program, according to the federal Dept. of Justice. The federal government will receive $2 million of the settlement, and $3 million will go to California.
Shield has denied any wrongdoing, saying it conducts business in compliance with governing regulations.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/12/19/gvbf1219.htm.
