VALHALLA – The US Government has filed and settled a civil fraud lawsuit against the Westchester County Health Care Corporation, operator of Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, for submitting false reimbursement claims to Medicaid. That joint federal and state program provides financial assistance to persons with low incomes for medical care.

The government’s complaint alleges that Westchester Med billed Medicaid for millions of dollars of outpatient services at its mental health center that lacked the core documentation required by Medicaid regulations.

The settlement, approved in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, requires the corporation to pay $7 million in civil damages under the False Claims Act.

From August 2001 through June 2010, the hospital repeatedly billed Medicaid for outpatient mental health services without having the core documentation required by the Medicaid regulations in order to bill for those services. The government said hospital management knew for years that the outpatient mental health clinics were missing documentation.