A southern Kentucky hospital will pay $16.5 million to the federal government to settle claims that it submitted false or fraudulent Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid claims for a variety of unnecessary heart procedures. The agreement released Tuesday covers a period from Jan. 1, 2008 through Aug. 31, 2011 at St. Joseph Health System, which runs St. Joseph London Hospital. Federal prosecutors say several doctors at the hospital performed unneeded coronary stents, pacemakers and diagnostic catheterizations, then billed the federal programs. Hospitals generally receive between $10,000 and $15,000 for medical procedures such as heart stents.
