Feds Hit Hospitalist Co With Suit Charging Overbilling

Federal prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit against The Hospitalists Co. IPCM charging that the company knowingly overbilled Medicare and Medicate for services. Share of IPCM fell more than 3 percent on the news. The company employs about 2,500 physicians who work only in hospitals and other long-term care facilities and has been the target of an investigation related to the suit since 2010 "We believe we have a strong compliance focus, and that we operate with appropriate billing policies, procedures, provider training, and compliance programs and controls," the company said in response to the investigation in its latest quarterly report. More than half of IPC's revenues come historically from government medical insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid, prosecutors said. The lawsuit, now in U.S. District Court in Chicago, was originally filed under seal in 2009 by Dr. Bijan Oughatiyan of Dallas, who worked as a hospitalist for IPC in San Antonio from 2003 to 2008, whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The Hospitalist Co. traded recently at $38.92, down $1.27.