February 6, 2015

Oklahoma-based Hospice care provider Good Shepherd Hospice Inc.agreed to pay $4M to resolve allegations it submitted false claims for hospice patients who were not terminally ill. Specifically, the government contended Good Shepherd pressured staff to meet admissions and census targets and paid bonuses to staff, including hospice marketers, admissions nurses and executive directors, based on the number of patients enrolled even if they were not eligible for hospice care. The settlement resolves allegations first raised by former Good Shepherd employees Kathi Cordingley and Tracy Jones in a whistleblower lawsuit they filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. They will receive a whistleblower award of approximately $680,000. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Home Health and Hospice, Lack of Medical Necessity, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,