NY hospital to pay $13.4M in Medicare-Medicaid scam

New York Downtown Hospital will pony up $13.4 million to the feds and the state to settle a lawsuit alleging fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid programs. A joint investigation by the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office and office of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman found that New York Downtown conspired with an out-of-state vendor to operate a detox program at the hospital in lower Manhattan, and filed false reimbursement claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services. The vendor was not licensed to operate a detox program in New York. The hospital also paid the vendor a monthly fee for referrals to the program, which is illegal under a state anti-kickback law. The hospital will pay the feds $5.84 million and the state $7.56 million.