PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Federal prosecutors say a Maine firm has entered into a settlement with the government to pay $825,000 to resolve charges it provided medically unnecessary ambulance transportation.
U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank says the charges accused North East Mobile Health Services of Scarborough with violating the federal False Claims Act. He says Maine Medical Center, the largest hospital in the state, has also agreed to pay $600,000 stemming from a separate settlement.
Frank says the settlement resolves allegations that North East Mobile Health improperly billed Medicare for non-emergency ambulance transportation of patients discharged from Maine Medical Center since 2007.
The government charged that North East improperly billed Medicare for ambulance transports while falsely claiming the patients were “bed confined” or otherwise medically required transportation.
