(LEGAFI) -- A whistleblower lawsuit accusing Wyoming Medical Center of defrauding the federal government out of higher Medicare and Medicaid payments continues to move forward, despite the government choosing not to intervene in the case and the hospital’s hope for a quick settlement.

The whistleblower lawsuit alleged the hospital altered records to collect higher fees from the federal government and accuses records clerks of changing the admissions status of patients in order to receive higher reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid. The change allowed the hospital to seek higher reimbursements from federal insurance programs, ranging from $35 to $1,100, according to the lawsuit.

Wyoming Medical Center denies the allegations and maintains any mistakes were inadvertent or accidental.

Whistleblower Gale Bryden, who used to work for the hospital collecting fees that had been denied by insurers, filed the lawsuit in 2007 under a federal whistleblower statute that kept it under seal while the government investigated the case. The lawsuit was unsealed in October 2011 after the federal government announced it would not intervene in the case.

After the case was unsealed, an attorney for the hospital said WMC was hoping to settle the case within a couple weeks. However, a settlement has not yet been announced and Bryden recently received permission to serve the hospital with an amended lawsuit that could include additional allegations.

If the government had intervened in the case, Bryden stood to receive up to 30 percent of any recovered funds under the federal whistleblower law.