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

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million to settle lawsuits thatalleged Hawaii’s larges t hospital overbilled government health care programes for prescription medications, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The settlemenr was the result of two whistleblower lawsuits brought by formerpharmacg technicians, who alleged that Queen’s overbilled the state’s Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as the federal health insurance program for military dependents, according to a news released from U.S. Attorney Edward H. Kubo Jr.
The lawsuits were filedx under the federal and state FalseClaimw Acts, which allow the governmeny to claim up to triple the plus penalties, for submitting false claimsa to government programs. The two formed employees allege Queen’s submitted fake bills for anti-psychotivc medications that were dispensed by the hospital pharmacy from 1999 to 2002 and were authorize d bya doctor, but not necessarilhy by a psychiatrist, as required. The hospitalk was also accused of billing from 1999 to 2006 for services providexd by medical residents who were supposed to be supervisede byother doctors, but that the supervision did not Kubo’s office said.
Under the Queen’s paid $2 million to the federak government, which shared $400,000 of the proceeds with the twoformetr employees, and $500,000 to the attorneyss for the two employees. Queen’s will also maintain a compliancre program to ensure its billinga conform to the rules for five years under a corporates integrity agreement withthe U.S. Department of Healthn and Human Services. Queen's issued this " denies any intentional but after five years of discussions and negotiationw withthe government, has agreed to settld this matter so that its resources may be spent on providing qualit health care rather than on legal