Sentient Medical Systems, a Hunt Valley, Md.-based company that allows physicians to operate remote intraoperative monitoring of a patient's nervous system during brain and spinal surgeries, has agreed to pay the federal government $2.7 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare, according to a Baltimore Sun news report.
The government first accused the company of alleged fraudulent billing practices in 2003, saying it billed the federal healthcare program more monitoring hours than what actually occurred. The company allegedly billed for monitoring more than one patient at a time, which went against Medicare's policy at the time. For example, if a physician monitored three patients for four hours simultaneously, the company could only bill insurers for four hours. The government accused the company of billing four hours for each patient, according to the report.
Sentient Medical Systems' current CEO said the company has since established a code of conduct and implemented programs to ensure sound business practices. Sentient, as part of the settlement, has not admitted any wrongdoing, according to the report.
Read the Baltimore Sun news report about Sentient Medical Systems' settlement.
Read other coverage about false claims settlements:
- Pharmaceutical Company Mylan Settles False Claims Lawsuit With Massachusetts AG for $2.6M
- Maryland's St. Joseph Medical Center to Pay $22M to Settle False Claims, Kickback Allegations
- 10 Largest Pharmaceutical Company Settlements in 2010
The government first accused the company of alleged fraudulent billing practices in 2003, saying it billed the federal healthcare program more monitoring hours than what actually occurred. The company allegedly billed for monitoring more than one patient at a time, which went against Medicare's policy at the time. For example, if a physician monitored three patients for four hours simultaneously, the company could only bill insurers for four hours. The government accused the company of billing four hours for each patient, according to the report.
Sentient Medical Systems' current CEO said the company has since established a code of conduct and implemented programs to ensure sound business practices. Sentient, as part of the settlement, has not admitted any wrongdoing, according to the report.
Read the Baltimore Sun news report about Sentient Medical Systems' settlement.
Read other coverage about false claims settlements:
- Pharmaceutical Company Mylan Settles False Claims Lawsuit With Massachusetts AG for $2.6M
- Maryland's St. Joseph Medical Center to Pay $22M to Settle False Claims, Kickback Allegations
- 10 Largest Pharmaceutical Company Settlements in 2010