N.Y. hospital settles Medicare fraud case

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Staten Island University Hospital in New York has settled a Medicare fraud case for more than $25 million, an attorney says.

Attorney Richard Reich, who represents whistle blower Elizabeth M. Ryan, said in a news release Monday the hospital has agreed to settle the False Claims Act lawsuit.

The 2004 lawsuit filed by U.S. officials in federal district court in New York alleged the hospital and its former chief of radiation oncology, Dr. Gilbert Lederman, knowingly billed Medicare for a cancer treatment not covered under the federal program.

By billing Medicare for the stereotactic body radiosurgery treatments, hospital officials were able to earn millions of dollars, Reich alleged.

"Staten Island University Hospital sought to exploit the Medicare program and obtained millions of dollars in payments which it was not entitled to at the expense of vulnerable cancer patients, as well as the public," the attorney said.

Reich said for her part in a federal investigation of the hospital's dealings and the ensuing lawsuit, his client will receive about 15 percent of the hospital's financial settlement with the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, Lederman has not settled his portion of the lawsuit, meaning litigation efforts against him are set to continue.