Brooklyn ambulance service overbilled feds by millions: audit
A Brooklyn ambulance service took taxpayers for a ride, overbilling the federal government by more than $19 million for transporting Medicare patients, according to an audit released Friday.
The inspector general of the US Department of Health and Human Services examined 100 bills from Midwood Ambulance Service during 2014-2015 for “non-emergency” transport services and rejected 89 as non-compliant.
“For 82 claims, Midwood billed for services for beneficiaries whose conditions did not meet Medicare medical necessity requirements (requiring ambulance transport for doctor’s visits),” the audit said.
For 49 claims, Midwood failed to obtain doctors’ written certification in a timely or proper manner to justify ambulance transport of patients.
Based on the sample audit, the IG disallowed most of the 114,138 claims Midwood filed — or $19.2 million of the $23.5 million in payments.
Midwood challenged the findings based on statistical sampling.
“Midwood cannot simply accept the OIGs findings and make such an exorbitant refund without the ability to further investigate individual claims … Midwood is not convinced a $19 million overpayment refund is warranted,” Midwood president Al Rapisarda said in a written response to the IG.
Rapisarda also said Midwood was sold in September and is basically broke.
“The sale was necessary because Midwood was losing money and had extensive debts. The business was sold at a loss, with barely enough to cover existing debts,” he told the feds.
Midwood is still in business, but a rep at its administrative office declined to comment.
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