Opinion ID: 783447
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Relator's and CHS' Cooperation with the Government

Text: 8 In 1995, Relator began working at White County Hospital, which is one of several hospitals owned by CHS. At some point during his tenure at White County Hospital, Relator became aware of a serious problem with upcoding and other billing irregularities 3 (J.A. at 167), and he reported these irregularities to the government between 1996 and 1998. 9 Sometime in the fall of 1997, CHS was approached by the government about possible upcoding at two different CHS hospitals. On December 18, 1997, CHS contacted the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (OIG-HHS), and disclosed that it had detected medical coding irregularities at its hospitals during recent internal audit efforts. CHS informed OIG-HHS of its plans to undertake an audit of its hospitals' coding, disclose the results, and repay any overpayments it had received from Medicare. After lengthy negotiations, CHS conducted the self-audit, and it presented preliminary findings to OIG-HHS on December 18, 1998. OIG-HHS simultaneously worked with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether a FCA violation might have occurred. This investigation, of which Relator apparently was unaware at the time, concluded in mid-1999. 10