Dive Brief:
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The CFO of a now-closed hospital in Texas has been indicted for allegedly defrauding the federal government nearly $800,000 in meaningful use incentive payments.
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According to the indictment, Shelby Regional Medical Center received $785,655 in January 2013 after successfully demonstrating meaningful use during the 2012 full-year reporting period.
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White faces one count of false statement and one count of aggravated identity theft related to meaningful use attestations for the fiscal year 2012.
Dive Insight:
It's little wonder that federal authorities are trying to get back the incentive payments made to Shelby. What's interesting is that this is the first I've heard of such a fraud allegedly being perpetrated around the meaningful use program, despite nearly $20 billion having been distributed. I'd expect to see more fraud allegations in this area coming to light in the near future.