Settlement in UT Southwestern/Parkland billing fraud; CMS postpones final Parkland ruling

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas pays settlement in Medicare and Medicaid billing fraud investigation. Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it will wait for state investigation before ruling continued on Medicare funding for Parkland.

Modern Healthcare: UT Southwestern Settles Parkland Upcoding Case
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve allegations of upcoding of Medicare and Medicaid claims related to teaching physicians practicing at Parkland Health & Hospital System, Dallas, between 2004 and 2007, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas. Neither the University of Texas Southwestern nor Parkland, which is paying nothing, admitted to wrongdoing in the settlement and cooperated with the investigation, according to the U.S. attorney office, which intervened on the suit with the state of Texas (Barr, 9/2).

Atlanta Journal Constitution: New Grady CEO's Old Hospital Settles Fraud Case For $1.4 Million
A Texas university medical center and the Dallas hospital where Grady Memorial Hospital's new CEO comes from have agreed to a $1.4 million settlement made public Thursday following a government investigation into alleged Medicare and Medicaid billing fraud. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Memorial Hospital cooperated with investigators but denied claims by federal and state agencies that university physicians inadequately supervised surgeons in training and improperly billed Medicare and Medicaid for services they didn't provide. Parkland, where the university physicians teach, isn't required to pay anything under the agreement (Williams, 9/2).

Associated Press/BusinessWeek: Texas: Parkland To Learn Fate Of Medicare
Parkland Memorial Hospital will find out by the end of the month whether it will keep its Medicare funding. A July inspection found violations in such areas as infection control and emergency care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the hospital faced losing its Medicare funding on Friday if a follow-up inspection didn't find it to be in compliance. Now, CMS says in a Thursday letter to Parkland that the date of a possible Medicare termination has been pushed back to allow state inspectors time to complete their reports on their follow-up inspection. CMS says if Parkland remains out of compliance, it will be terminated from the program on Sept. 30 (9/3).