Rural/Metro Settles Billing Claims

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rural/Metro Corp. has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle claims that the ambulance and fire-protection company improperly billed the federal government for ambulance services in the Washington, D.C., area.

A federal investigation found that Rural/Metro’s Washington, D.C.-area division submitted false billings to the federal government for the costs of ambulance services for Medicaid recipients in the nation’s capital. The government said some transports were not medically necessary, not authorized under Medicaid, not provided at the level that was billed or not provided at all.

Rural/Metro, which operates fire-protection and ambulance services to several Phoenix-area communities, agreed this month to pay $951,602 to settle the whistleblower case.

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Paramedics with man on stretcher in ambulance, showing low angle view.

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