Manchester Hospital Settles Federal Claims

Mark Spencer

Nov. 25, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Manchester Memorial Hospital today became the fifth hospital in the state to agree to settle allegations of overcharging the federal government for some cancer treatments.

The hospital will pay $712,166 to settle claims stemming from overbilling the Medicare program for intravenous treatments from 2000-04, Nora Dannehy, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said in a prepared statement.

Medicare allowed payment for one unit of infusion therapy and chemotherapy for each patient visit, Dannehy said, but the hospital often billed the program for two to nine units.

"Billing for inflated charges relating to chemotherapy and infusion services siphons critical resources away from the Medicare program, which relies on hospitals to bill Medicare honestly and accurately," Dannehy said.

Manchester Memorial officials did not admit liability in entering the civil settlement.

Andrew Beck, vice president of marketing and communication for Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which owns the hospital, said the billing errors arose because Medicare changed procedures in 2000.

"For a variety of reasons, the announcement was easy to miss and a number of hospitals missed it," Beck said.

He said hospital officials cooperated fully when the errors were brought to their attention. Rockville Hospital, also owned by ECHN, paid $17,000 last year to resolve similar errors, although that settlement was done through a different process because the the amount was relatively minor.

In May, Hartford Hospital agreed to reimburse the government $788,960, and Greenwich Hospital agreed to pay $605,000 in a similar settlement. In March, Yale-New Haven Hospital paid a $3.77 million fine, and John Dempsey Hospital at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington was fined $475,278 in June, 2007.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0083-29890496