Columbia / HCA Settles With Alabama

Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. reached a final settlement with Alabama over a Medicaid investigation, which found no evidence of criminal conduct by the largest U.S. health-care company. Columbia will reimburse Alabama $40,189 in disputed fees for tubal ligations performed at Northwest Medical Center in Russellville, the Alabama attorney general’s office said. The matter predated a wider probe by the federal government into Columbia’s billing and business practices. Columbia shares fell 19 cents to close at $33.19 on the NYSE. Nashville-based Columbia also agreed to pay the state’s costs for the investigation, which began in May 1996, and not to charge the added fees in the future.