If you think medical practices are the only entities under the microscope for improper billing practices, think again. On May 1, the OIG recommended that CIGNA Healthcare of Arizona repay at least $151,000 in improper charges due to a "significant error rate," and suggested that CIGNA may have overbilled the Medicare program by $28 million in 2007, the Arizona Republic reported.
The disparity comes from an audit of $328 million that the government paid CIGNA for administering its Medicare Advantage program in 2007, the article states, although CIGNA is appealing the government’s recommendation.