Cook County Health Agreed to Pay $451,000 for Allegedly Violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law by Submitting Claims for Services that Were Ineligible for Payment

After it self-disclosed conduct to OIG, Cook County, an Illinois body politic and corporate, through its Cook County Health and Hospital System, doing business as Cook County Health (CCH), Chicago, Illinois, agreed to pay $451,346.14 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. OIG alleged that CCH billed Medicare and Medicaid for care furnished to beneficiaries enrolled in clinical research studies sponsored by non-government sponsors and by the National Institutes of Health and the Administration for Health Care Research and Quality. OIG alleged the claims were improper and were not eligible for payment under Medicare of Illinois Medicaid because they were: (1) for the investigational item or service itself; (2) services provided solely to satisfy data collection and analysis; or (3) items or services customarily provided by the research sponsor free-of-charge.