Imagine that a hospital in the United States has recruited a billing specialist who reports to the manager of the billing department. The responsibility of the billing specialist is to ensure compliance with billing policies and procedures. The manager has begun an audit of the department's adherence to policies and procedures. The audit reveals that the recently recruited billing specialist is not following the standard billing guidelines. In several patient bills, the manager observes billing errors and noncompliance with the hospital's standard process. After investigation, the manager determines that it is fraudulent billing.

In your initial post, include the following:

• Identify the legal and compliance implications of the billing specialist's actions.
• Describe how you believe the manager and hospital should respond to this issue.
• Describe the measures the hospital should take to prevent the recurrence of this issue.

In your response posts to at least two other peers' initial posts, respond to the following:

• Compare and contrast your thoughts on the legal and compliance implications identified by your peers.
• Explain one additional measure for preventing such actions that your peer did not discuss in their initial post. Why do you feel it is an essential measure?

To complete this assignment, review the Nursing and Health Professions Discussion Guidelines and Rubric.