N.J. medical center agrees to pay $450K to settle allegations of inappropriate cardiac procedures
Saint Michael’s Medical Center Inc. agreed to pay $450,000 to resolve allegations that it submitted claims for performing PCIs, catheterizations and stents on Medicare and Medicaid patients that were medically unnecessary, according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) news release.
Saint Michael’s, a nonprofit organization based in Newark, New Jersey, allegedly submitted the claims in its cardiac catheterization laboratory for treating from 2009 through 2014.
The DOJ said the allegations were revealed in a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act. The allegations were made against Saint Michael’s and four physicians in a May 5 letter.
The DOJ said the agreement was based on allegations only and that there had been no determination of liability.
In early May, Prime Healthcare Services completed its acquisition of Saint Michael’s, a 357-bed acute care hospital. After finalizing the deal, Prime Healthcare appointed Robert Iannaccone at Saint Michael’s CEO. Iannaccone replaced David Ricci, who was Saint Michael’s CEO since July 2011.
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.