Five Kaiser Permanente affiliates in California and Colorado agreed to pay $556 million to resolve claims they illegally pressured doctors to add codes for diagnoses they never considered to patients' medical records, in order to inflate Medicare payments from the government. Wednesday's settlement resolves two whistleblower lawsuits accusing the affiliates of Oakland, California-based Kaiser of violating the federal False Claims Act. Kaiser did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The affiliates included Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado, Colorado Permanente Medical Group, Permanente Medical Group, and Southern California Permanente Medical Group.
In a social media landscape shaped by hashtags, algorithms, and viral posts, nurse leaders must decide: Will they let the narrative spiral, or can they adapt and join the conversation?
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