◆ Regions Hospital and Group Health Plan Inc. has agreed to pay $372,342 in a civil monetary penalty settlement with the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) stemming from a self-disclosure. According to the settlement agreement, which was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Regions Hospital and Group Health Plan “disclosed that after an internal investigation, it was determined that certain intracardiac electrophysiology procedures rendered by a hospital-based physician employed by Respondent did not meet applicable medical necessity requirements.” OIG alleged the respondent knowingly billed Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE and other federal health care programs for items or services that were false or fraudulent from Nov. 1, 2012, through Dec. 31, 2019. Regions was accepted into OIG’s Self-Disclosure Protocol in November 2020. It didn’t admit liability in the settlement.