Queen's pays $2.5M to settle Feds' claims - Triangle Business Journal:

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million to settle lawsuits thatalleged Hawaii’s largest hospital overbilled government health care programs for prescriptioh medications, federal prosecutors said The settlement was the result of two whistleblower lawsuitxs brought by former pharmacy technicians, who alleged that Queen’s overbilled the state’s Medicare and Medicaidd programs, as well as TRICARE, the federal healthy insurance program for military dependents, according to a news release from U.S. Attorneh Edward H. Kubo Jr.
The lawsuits were files under the federal and state FalsewClaims Acts, which allow the government to claim up to tripld the damages, plus penalties, for submitting falsew claims to government programs. The two formed employees allege Queen’s submitted fake bills for anti-psychotix medications that were dispensed by the hospitap pharmacy from 1999 to 2002 and were authorize bya doctor, but not necessarily by a as required. The hospital was also accuser of billing from 1999 to 2006 for services provide by medical residents who were supposed to be supervised byotherd doctors, but that the supervision did not occur, Kubo’s officse said.
Under the settlement, Queen’sa paid $2 million to the federaol government, which shared $400,000 of the proceeds with the twoformer employees, and $500,000 to the attorneys for the two Queen’s will also maintain a compliance program to ensure its billingds conform to the rules for five years underr a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Departmenty of Health and Human Services.
Queen's issued this statement: " denies any intentional wrongdoing, but after five years of discussionas and negotiations withthe government, has agreerd to settle this matter so that its resources may be spenyt on providing quality health care rather than on legal