Year: 2012
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5680 SEEN/
$44 million state contract handed to Butterworth’s group despite lack of rules for public scrutiny
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
Florida’s Department of Children and Families awarded a $44 million-a-year contract to privatize the management of mental health services in Broward without required rules in place to promote public scrutiny. -
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5099 SEEN/
Cabinet officials signal crackdown on Medicare billing abuse
By Fred Schulte and Joe Eaton
The Center for Public Integrity
Top federal officials are stepping up scrutiny for doctors and hospitals that may be cheating Medicare by using electronic health records to improperly bill the health plan for more complex and costly services than they deliver. -
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4903 SEEN/
Growth of electronic medical records eases path to inflated bills
By Fred Schulte
The Center for Public Integrity
Electronic medical records, long touted by government officials as a critical tool for cutting health care costs, appear to be prompting some doctors and hospitals to bill higher fees to Medicare for treating seniors. -
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5191 SEEN/
Hospitals grab at least $1 billion in extra fees for emergency room visits
By Joe Eaton and David Donald
The Center for Public Integrity
Judging by their bills, it would appear that elderly patients treated in the emergency room at Baylor Medical Center in Irving, Texas, are among the sickest in the country — far sicker than patients at most other hospitals. In 2008, the hospital billed Medicare for the two most expensive levels of care for eight of every 10 patients it treated and released from its emergency room — almost twice the national average. But the charges may have more to do with billing practices than sicker patients. -
How doctors and hospitals have collected billions in questionable Medicare fees
By Fred Schulte and David Donald
The Center for Public Integrity
Thousands of doctors and other medical professionals have steadily billed higher rates for treating elderly patients on Medicare over the last decade — adding $11 billion or more to their fees and signaling a possible rise in medical billing abuse, an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity has found. -
Hallandale city manager calls in special auditor to review property bought from ex-congressman
By William Gjebre
BrowardBulldog.org
New Hallandale Beach City Manager Renee Crichton has hired an independent auditor to review the controversial $1.1 million purchase last year of property from a charter school company run by former Broward County Congressman Peter Deutsch.
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