The government has intervened in a suit brought by a whistleblower alleging that Creekside Hospice LLC and affiliated entities improperly enrolled patients in its hospice programs that were not terminally ill.  Creekside allegedly altered records to render patients eligible for hospice care and to eliminate references to patients’ improved health.  The hospice company also allegedly discouraged patients and their families from moving patients out of hospice care once elected.  When patients enroll in hospice care, they forgo treatments designed to cure their illness and receive only care designed to relieve pain and make them comfortable.  The DOJ provided the following comments:

“The Medicare hospice benefit is intended to provide pain management and other palliative care to patients nearing the end of life, to help make them as comfortable as possible,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Civil Division.  “Too often, however, companies abuse this critical service by using aggressive marketing tactics to pressure patients who do not need, and may be ill-served, by these services in order to get higher reimbursements from the government.  The department will take swift action to protect taxpayer dollars and make sure that Medicare benefits are available to those who truly need them.”

Read the entire press release, “United States Files False Claims Act Lawsuit Against Las Vegas Hospice and Related Entities for Billing Medicare and Medicaid for Ineligible Patients”