The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) has recovered €600,000 from healthcare providers and imposed €91,000 in fines following investigations into fraudulent claims under the national health system (GHS).
The crackdown targeted two medical supplies companies, two hospitals, and a speech pathologist.
In a first for the GHS, the medical suppliers were fined €10,000 and €30,000 respectively for delivering unapproved items to hospitals and claiming reimbursement using incorrect codes.
Two hospitals were fined €20,000 and €30,000. One was found to have altered patient medical histories to justify certain procedures, while the other claimed inpatient reimbursement for outpatient services without proper documentation.
The speech pathologist was penalised for submitting claims for services that were never provided. Nearly half of the recovered funds came from the medical supplies companies.
The announcement follows HIO’s policy of publicly disclosing penalties imposed on healthcare providers following investigations into misconduct.
