DC Medical Malpractice & Patient Safety BlogWhistleblowers — and Taxpayers — Win Lawsuit over Medicare Fraud
Here’s another story with a satisfying ending and the take-home lesson that it’s a bad idea to cheat taxpayers and abuse medical resources.
A chain of hospices agreed to settle a lawsuit over its overbilling of Medicare, and driving up payments by providing care to patients for whom it wasn’t appropriate. St. Joseph Hospice, which operates in four states will pay $5.9 million, reported Associated Press (AP).
Hospice care is for people with terminal illnesses, and generally provides palliative services, which address symptoms, not curative care. Hospice patients usually receive the care in their homes, enabling them to die where they are most comfortable, instead of in a hospital or other care facility. Doctors prescribe hospice care only for people who are not expected to live longer than six months.
