Piedmont agrees to pay $16 million to settle billing lawsuit by feds

Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare has agreed to pay $16 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday that Piedmont billed the government insurance programs for procedures at the more expensive inpatient rates instead of the less costly outpatient or observation rates. “Billing…

The troubled nursing homes you may not know about

A year ago, a resident of a Central Georgia nursing home climbed out of the window of her room and wandered off. The staff at Pinehill Nursing Center in Byromville realized she was gone and launched a search. The woman had been reported to be delusional and refusing to take some of her prescribed medicine….

Medicare readmission penalties hit dozens of Georgia hospitals again

Hospitals can receive Medicare penalties if too many of their patients are readmitted within a month of their discharge. And recently released federal data show that 85 percent of such facilities in Georgia are set to be penalized. The readmission penalties, created by the Affordable Care Act, have brought increased scrutiny to the care of patients…

New Medicare cards are arriving: How to protect them, avoid scams

We often get new cards in the mail, from credit to retail to random discounts, many of them unwanted. But there’s a very important card on its way – or newly arrived – for hundreds of thousands of Georgians 65 and older. Don’t toss it into the junk mail pile. Medicare is replacing its card…

Feds report serious RN shortages at many Georgia nursing homes

An analysis of Medicare data shows that nearly half of Georgia nursing homes recently were found “below average’’ or “much below average’’ in their staffing levels of registered nurses. RNs are the highest-trained caregivers required to be on staff in a nursing home, and they supervise other nurses and aides. Medicare mandates that every facility…

Feds: Hospitals were not ‘double paid,’ but are still on the hook

The federal agency that runs Medicare has acknowledged making an error in its statement on hospital reimbursement when it disclosed its plan to recoup $55 million in improper payments to medical providers in Georgia and other states. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicated last week that hospitals were essentially paid twice for the same patient services….

Multimillion-dollar mistake: Medicare says providers were overpaid

The federal Medicare agency, citing contractor errors, is seeking to recoup nearly $55 million from hospitals and other medical providers in Georgia and other states. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told GHN on Wednesday that the agency found 268,000 claims from hospitals, rural health clinics and other providers that were erroneously paid through the traditional…

Emory goes Down Under to deliver nighttime intensive care here

Hospitals, like many other workplaces, have a tough time filling slots on the night shift. Few doctors and nurses want to work overnight hours, which are often inconvenient and can take a toll in fatigue and burnout. But in a novel way, Emory medical providers are addressing the problem. Through the technology of telehealth, the…

The high cost of surviving rabies

Brenda Goodman is senior news writer at WebMD. Andy Miller is CEO and editor of Georgia Health News. Feb. 20, 2018 — A brown bat the size of a mouse with teeth like a stapler may or may not have bitten Tamara Davis in Georgia. But it certainly took a bite out of her bank…

DeKalb Medical again faces federal scrutiny over patient care

For the second time in four months, DeKalb Medical Center faces a federal deadline for approval of a plan of correction after a patient care problem. The latest case involved a nursing home patient who was admitted to the Decatur hospital in October. The patient, whose chief complaint was rectal bleeding, was given a dosage of…