Rural/Metro pays $1M fine for Medicare fraud

[Guest guest]

From today's Arizona Daily Star (Tucson):

" Rural/Metro Corp. agrees to $1M fine.  Rural/Metro Corp., a

sdale-based provider of emergency medical and firefighting services, has

agreed to pay a

fine of nearly $1 million to settle charges that it filed false Medicaid

billings for ambulance services in the District of Columbia, the East Valley

Tribune reported. "

" The agreement concludes an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Health

and Human Service Office of the Inspector General, and the District of Columbia

Office of the Inspector General.  Rural/Metro spokeswoman Liz Merritt did not

comment specifically on the allegations, but said the company did not admit

liability. "

GG: Apparently these people don't learn. This from a previous post on a

blog, involving prior violations of the law by Rural Metro and AMR from several

years ago:

" sdale, AZ-based ambulance firm Rural/Metro has settled with the U.S.

Department of Justice over a pair of whistleblower suits alleging that it had

offered kickbacks in exchange for Medicare and Medicaid business. Rural/Metro

has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle the 2000 and 2001 suits, which asserted

that the company had offered discounts to Texas hospitals in return for

contracts to provide services billable to the state and federal entities.

(Competitor American Medical Response previously paid $9 million to the DOJ to

settle

similar allegations.) As part of the settlement, whistleblowers Block

and Adam Wightman will receive $450,000. Rural/Metro serves 365 communities and

has more than 8,000 employees. It reported annual revenues of $450.9 million

for fiscal 2006. "

GG: If I understand the law correctly, fraud involves lying and stealing.

Those who commit Medicare fraud lie and steal. I am always slightly amused

when settlements like these are announced and the customary " no liability was

admitted " statement is added. A typical lawyer's ploy that, unfortunately,

the government allows. Nobody ought to be able to get out of a criminal

charge by paying a fine and denying liability. If you're not guilty, why in

the

world would you agree to pay millions of dollars in fines?

OH, SILLY ME! Of course there's no liability. These folks just decide to

pay the government a million or two and a half now and then because they're

such good citizens. Just their contribution to the general welfare. Just

good Americans. Does anybody have any Phenergan or Zofran? I think I'm going

to be sick.

GG

**************

Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for

FanHouse Fantasy Football today.

(http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020)