Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Courtney Grande authored an article for the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Health Law Section outlining the February 2016 settlement between the U.S. government and 51 hospitals related to the improper implantation of cardiac devices. Under the terms of the settlement, hospitals must pay $23 million to settle the allegations they inappropriately billed Medicare for improperly implanting cardiac devices from 2002-2010. As Courtney states in the article, the “case is especially notable because it shows the dilemma faced by healthcare companies who misinterpret Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) regulations and fail to recognize when CMS’s assessment of appropriate care differs from the medical community’s definition.” This case serves to remind healthcare providers “to assess whether their practices comply with federal regulations, particularly as medical treatments continue to advance at a faster pace than CMS regulations.”
The full article, “The New Cardiac Device Settlements: Why is it not Just the Number of Defendants that Makes this Case Notable,” was published by the ABA’s Health Law Section and is available online.