A nonprofit that operates hospitals in Prescott and Prescott Valley has agreed to pay $5.85 million to settle a lawsuit contending it inflated payments from the federal government under the Medicare program by using an inflated wage scale for the Prescott area.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit that Medicare improperly paid $19.1 million to Yavapai Regional Medical Center between 2006 and 2009.
The U.S. Attorney Office's announcement of the settlement says it wasn't an admission of liability by Yavapai or a concession by the government about its claims' validity.
The office announced the settlement Wednesday, a day after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit filed last April by Gregory Kuzma under a whistleblower law.
The announcement says Kuzma will receive nearly $1.2 million as his share of the settlement payment.
