JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ALLEGES 4 HOSPITALS IN CALIFORNIA & MISSOURI SUBMITTED FALSE MEDICARE CLAIMS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The government has filed four civil complaints in separate but related cases accusing four hospitals of submitting false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. The four hospitals are Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Loma Linda University Medical Center in metropolitan Los Angeles, California, as well as St. Louis University Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.

The government's suits allege that the hospitals falsely charged the federal health care program for millions of dollars worth of procedures involving experimental cardiac devices that were not properly reimbursable. The allegations in the suits run from 1987 to 1995.

These complaints grew out of a qui tam or whistleblower lawsuit originally filed by Kevin Cosens, a former medical device salesman, against a number of hospitals around the country. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can file suit on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.

The government has previously entered into settlements with 29 other hospitals who had been defendants in this case, recovering a total of over $40 million. The Justice Department continues to pursue claims against a number of additional hospitals.

The cases against St. Louis University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital will be litigated jointly by the Justice Department's Civil Division and the United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Missouri. The cases against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Loma Linda University Medical Center will be litigated by the Justice Department's Civil Division.

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