A major Medicare Advantage company has paid the government more than $342 million to help settle allegations that it overcharged the federal healthcare program for years.
Elevance Health, which covers about 2 million people on Medicare, sent the money to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via wire transfer on May 27, court records show. Government lawyers disclosed the payment in a June 22 court filing.
In an email to CMS staff, Elevance described the money as a "remittance of the total overpayment amount" estimated by government audits, court records show. Company spokesperson Leslie Porras told KFF Health News in a statement that Elevance Health "continues to engage in constructive dialogue" with CMS. "We remain optimistic that a resolution can be reached and value our longstanding relationship with CMS," she said.
The payment was made in response to a CMS enforcement action in February, in which the agency threatened to halt enrollments in Elevance Medicare Advantage plans unless the company corrected what CMS called "substantial and persistent noncompliance" with federal regulations that require health plans to submit accurate billing data and return any overpayments when they are discovered.
