Appalachian Regional Healthcare Inc. (ARH) has agreed to pay $2.884 million to settle false claims allegations that it billed Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid for medically unnecessary cardiac catheterization procedures and inpatient admissions in connection with one cardiologist, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky said Nov. 28.^[1] The cardiologist, Padubidri Chandrashekar, M.D., and his practice, Mountain Heart Center, P.S.C., settled the false claims allegations separately for $149,815.

The government alleged Chandrashekar admitted inpatients to the hospital in advance of their diagnostic cardiac caths, performed or ordered the procedures and caused ARH to bill for them without adequate documentation.

ARH’s settlement stemmed from its self-disclosure to the U.S. attorney’s office in December 2018. After concerns were identified about Chandrashekar’s documentation of his admissions to Whitesburg ARH Hospital and Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center and his cardiac cath procedures later performed at the hospitals, ARH launched an investigation, said Maria Braman, M.D., ARH’s chief medical officer, in a statement. Chandrashekar wasn’t employed by ARH, but he had admission privileges at the two hospitals. He hasn’t had medical privileges or performed services at any ARH facility since 2018, Braman noted. In his own statement, Chandrashekar “categorically” denied the allegations and noted he wasn’t required to implement a corporate integrity agreement (the same goes for ARH, which is typical with a self-disclosure).