Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, Calif., has stopped billing Medicare for kwashiorkor, a rare nutritional disorder usually affecting famished children, according to California Watch.
Shasta, which was bought by Prime Healthcare Services in 2008, billed 1,100 cases of kwashiorkor in a two-year period, which made it eligible for $6.9 million in bonus Medicare payments. Its 1,100 cases were about 70 times the state average, according to the report.
Some legal experts said the change resulted from California cracking down on aggressive billing practices. In a statement, Prime said its Medicare billing practices are legal and accurate and declined to comment further.
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Shasta, which was bought by Prime Healthcare Services in 2008, billed 1,100 cases of kwashiorkor in a two-year period, which made it eligible for $6.9 million in bonus Medicare payments. Its 1,100 cases were about 70 times the state average, according to the report.
Some legal experts said the change resulted from California cracking down on aggressive billing practices. In a statement, Prime said its Medicare billing practices are legal and accurate and declined to comment further.
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