
The settlement agreement concludes the government’s review into whether the hospital and others caused the State of New Mexico to submit claims for matching federal Medicaid funding in violation of the Federal False Claims Act.
Mimbres Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home, Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, Alta Vista Regional Medical Center and Community Health Systems Professional Services Corporation entered into a settlement agreement and collectively will pay $75 million to resolve the matter.
Reportedly, under the terms of the settlement, there was no finding or admission of improper conduct by the hospital or any other entity.
Mimbres Memorial Hospital officials said they settled the allegations in order to end a case that had been pending since 2005 and to avoid the continued expense and uncertainty of ongoing litigation.
They added that they had no knowledge of how the counties or state reported donations which were entirely lawful and a matter of public record, or what the state reported to Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, and do not believe they should have been subject to suit for discretionary government funding decisions.