Hospital Slumlord Update: Workers testify that hospitals’ owner interfered in billing
Last edited Thu Nov 13, 2014, 08:28 PM - Edit history (1)
TYLER — Dr. Tariq Mahmood routinely ducked into the billing-code office of his Renaissance Hospital Terrell to insist that other doctors’ patient diagnoses be altered to reflect more expensive treatments, a former employee testified Monday.
After Norma Longley balked, according to her testimony, she later discovered her codes for Medicare reimbursements were being altered at another facility.
Another coder, Cynthia Kennemer Plumlee, testified that she was fired soon after she refused to allow Mahmood to be “involved’’ in reviewing the codes, saying it would have been a serious breach of professional ethics.
On the first day of Mahmood’s federal trial on charges that he conspired to defraud Medicare by submitting $1.1 million in bogus claims for his troubled hospital chain, the two former employees portrayed him as pushing the boundaries on ethical practices far beyond what they had ever seen in their combined 40 years experience in hospitals.
More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/headlines/20140721-workers-testify-that-hospitals-owner-interfered-in-billing.ece .
Related threads (in reverse chronological order)
Hospital slumlord: Owner of failed Texas hospital chain rescinds deal
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107818030
Indicted owner of Texas hospital chain to plead guilty to fraud conspiracy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107817949
Loss of East Texas town’s hospital (due to Medicare billing fraud) hits home after toddler chokes
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107812403
FBI investigating recent document destruction at Cameron hospital
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107810860
In rare move, sheriff takes control of Central Texas Hospital; effort aimed at protecting community
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107810599
Other links are available at this newspaper article:
http://watchdogblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/18-million-to-reward-unsafe-hospitals-alarm-in-congress.html/
The most critical article is this:
http://www.dallasnews.com/investigations/headlines/20130713-patients-died-amid-federal-state-regulatory-inaction.ec
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