Georgia hospital created by Roosevelt, Medicare settle

ATLANTA (AP) - A Georgia hospital founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt has settled a payment dispute with the agency running Medicare.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital settled allegations it had received nearly $600.000 in excessive Medicare payments.

Roosevelt came to Georgia hoping its mineral spring waters could ease his paralysis from polio. It didn’t, but he set up a hospital in 1927 to treat polio survivors.

Christen Engel with the hospital’s current owner, Augusta University Health, said the hospital will repay some money. But Medicare has agreed to accept about half of the $585,000 it says should not have been paid. In return, the hospital dropped a lawsuit challenging Medicare’s auditing process.

Roosevelt Warm Springs treats about 400 patients annually at the campus 60 miles southwest of Atlanta.

___

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com