Olean General Hospital, Kaleida Health to pay feds $2.7M for self

Olean General Hospital

OLEAN, N.Y. — Olean General Hospital and its parent organization will pay almost $3 million to federal investigators for giving benefits to patients who were employees or their family members in violation of federal law.

In a report dated May 25, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General reported that Kaleida Health and Kaleida member hospital Olean General Hospital agreed to pay $2.7 million in civil penalties for giving benefits to employees and family members who were patients and beneficiaries of federal health care programs.

Federal officials reported that Kaleida and OGH self-reported the violations.

The self-reported benefits provided included:

Discounts on inpatient, observation, and outpatient hospital services.

Discounts on home care services and long-term care services.

Complimentary local telephone service, television, valet parking, and cafeteria privileges.

Upgrades from semi-private to private rooms with no additional charge.

Reduced cost-sharing amounts for prescriptions filled at Kaleida pharmacies.

Reductions in deductibles for subacute rehabilitation services.

Reductions or waivers of cost-sharing amounts for other services, including smoking cessation classes, in relation to services provided at 14 affiliates of Kaleida.

Investigators also alleged OGH offered and provided waivers or reductions of cost-sharing amounts to some employees and family members who were federal health care program beneficiaries on inpatient services, outpatient ancillary services, same-day services, rehabilitation services, and treatments including dialysis, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

HHS reports such benefits may encourage overuse of health care services and federally-funded health care benefits, driving up costs and limiting the availability of services for other users. Under federal law, civil penalties and sometimes exclusion from programs may be used as penalties for health care providers that violate the law.

First announced in 2016, OGH joined Kaleida in July 2017. According to a statement from OGH officials, the hospital self-reported some time in 2019.

"Olean General along with Kaleida Health, and its hospitals, promote a culture of transparency and accountability. Four years ago we were the ones to self-disclose to the Office of Inspector General regarding the over-expansion of our discount programs," officials said in the statement. "As a result, we made appropriate changes to ensure that we are consistent with regulatory mandates while still providing the best employee-friendly programs possible.

Officials noted that OGH will be responsible for $22,000 of the settlement, or under 1% of the total amount. The remainder will be on Kaleida Health.

Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community.The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com$1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time.Thank You!

The Bradford Era mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Bradford Era on your mobile device just as it appears in print.