Southern New Hampshire Medical Center agreed to pay a $33,400 civil settlement to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting bills to federal healthcare programs for a nursing assistant who had been excluded from these programs, according to a press release from the US Attorney's office (District of New Hampshire).
SNHMC, a not-for-profit hospital in Nashua, N.H., did not admit liability, and the hospital agreed to cooperate in the government's investigation as well as follow procedures to ensure excluded individuals are not employed there in the future.
The hospital contracted with various staffing agencies to employ the individual, who had been excluded from federal healthcare programs for the services involved. Under the False Claims Act, it is illegal to submit claims to federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid for an excluded individual.
Premier Medical Staffing, a temporary staffing firm in New Hampshire, agreed to pay $90,000 to resolve similar allegations related to the same individual. Premier had placed the employee at various hospitals and other healthcare facilities where services were billed to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs.