CA hospital pays $5M to settle Medicare suit

A Southern California hospital has paid the federal government more than $5 million to resolve allegations that it filed false Medicare claims.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement saying the lawsuit was dismissed Wednesday with the payment of $5.15 million by Simi Valley Hospital.

The case was originally a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2001 by an employee who claimed the hospital submitted false claims to Medicare for chemical dependency and psychiatric treatments between 1991 and 1997.