Back in court . . . Columbia accused of fraud

Well, it’s official now, sort of. Columbia/ HCA Healthcare Corp. has been accused by the U.S. Attorney in Florida of engaging in a nationwide scheme to defraud Medicare, which included collecting inflated fees for home health services, according to the Bloomberg News Service. Bloomberg recently cited newly unsealed court documents in a case in Tampa, FL, where three company officials are facing criminal fraud charges. The records are the first official indication the government contends Columbia engaged in fraud on a nationwide scale. Of course, now all that remains is for the government to prove it.