WY hospital accused of fraud by whistleblower

Wyoming Medical Center defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by altering hospital records to collect higher fees from the government, a whistle-blower alleges in a federal lawsuit unsealed this week. The document, filed by a hospital worker in 2007, accuses records clerks of changing the admission statuses of patients without a doctor's order. The change allowed the hospital to seek higher reimbursements from federal insurance programs. The whistle-blower, a worker named Gale Bryden, suspected the practice continued even after she notified top hospital administrators in the fall of 2006. Bryden claims she shared her concerns with Vickie Diamond, who was chief operating officer at the time and is now the hospital's president.