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Mercy Hospital Defrauded Medicare

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Medical Malpractice - (0 Comments)

The St. Louis Post Dispatch has reported that Mercy Hospital (formerly St. John’s Mercy Medical Center) has settled a Justice Department investigation by agreeing to pay $365,000.

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The settlement resolves allegations that Mercy overcharged Medicare between 2000 and 2008 for performing kyphoplasty, a minimally-invasive procure to treat certain spinal fractures. The allegation was that the hospital’s unnecessarily extended the patient’s stays in order to increase the recovery from Medicare. The DOJ brought the charges under the False Claims Act.

Mercy was 1 of 14 hospitals around the nation that settled with DOJ over the practice.

Since Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sebelius created an initiative to jointly pursue investigations to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid Fraud in May 2009, the U.S. Government has recovered $6.6 billion in cases involving Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, mostly from hospitals and large medical care providers.

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PROMINENT MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURER PAYING DOCTORS ACCUSED OF FAKING STUDIES

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Doctors & Hospitals | Medical Malpractice | Products Liability | Recent Litigation - (0 Comments)

The New York Times has reported that Medtronic, a prominent manufacturer of medical devices and products, such as infusers, defibrillators and other items, has paid $788,000 to U.S. Army doctor, Timothy R. Kuklo, who was found to have faked results of a study published in a British medical journal.Dr. Kuklo is now on staff as an assistant medical professor at Washington University, here in St. Louis. Dr. Kuklo is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in adult and pediatric spine surgery.If these allegations prove true, it is shocking that Washington University would employ such a physician to train future generations of orthopedic surgeons. It would also call into question all Medtronics studies. These studies are submitted to the FDA to obtain approval of medical devices and products, and if physicians are being paid what seems to amount to bribes, then the truthfulness of their study results are certainly called into question.If you have any questions or concerns regarding Medtronic products, or care rendered by Dr. Kuklo, please do not hesitate to call The Law Offices of Todd N. Hendrickson. I have successfully prosecuted cases against medical devices manufacturers, hospitals and physicians throughout Missouri and Illinois and I have particular experience in handling orthopedic cases, including hip and knee replacements.

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