Several hospice care providers have recently faced allegations of Medicare fraud for aggressively enrolling patients that did not meet program requirements.  One company, Hospice Care of Kansas, allegedly gave sales people $500 per month to wine and dine medical professionals.  Other companies offered incentives like free supplies, enrollment bonuses, pizza parties, and gift cards.  Many companies allegedly structured bonuses for sales people in a way that encouraged fraudulent enrollments–compensating based on enrollment numbers or on the length of the patients’ stay.

The HHS Inspector General is currently investigating industry practices after a 2009 report detailed Medicare abuses in hospice care.  While the extra care that hospice patients receive may seem like a welcome addition to patients and their loved ones, patients in hospice care waive their right to curative treatment, meaning that hospice providers’ efforts to enroll unqualified patients could actually harm those patients.

Read the entire article, “Aunt Midge Not Dying in Hospice Reveals $14 Billion U.S. Market”