The former chief financial officer of a Texas hospital pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to Medicare about the center's use of electronic records.
Joe White, former CFO of Shelby Regional Medical Center, admitted that he knowingly made a false statement in November 2012 to Medicare, saying the Center, Texas, hospital was a meaningful user of electronic health records, when it didn't actually meet those requirements, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Because of that lie, the hospital received $785,655 from Medicare, according to the Justice Department. The hospital closed in 2013.
As CFO, White was in charge of the implementation of EHRs for the hospital and was responsible for attesting to the meaningful use of electronic records to receive incentive payments under Medicare's EHR incentive program.
Attempts to reach White's attorney, Colin Bryan Amann, were not immediately successful Tuesday.
A sentencing date has not yet been set, but White could face up to five years in federal prison.
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