WASHINGTON, March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The Corporate Whistleblower Center is urging employees or recruiters of a company offering hospice services to call them at 866-714-6466 if their employer is submitting bills to Medicare for patients who are not terminally ill. As the Center would like to explain to a potential whistleblower, there could be significant rewards for this type of information, provided it is very well documented. http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.com
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The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "We are urging employees of a company providing hospice services, or any type of healthcare provider, to call us at 866-714-6466 if they possess well-documented proof the company is overbilling Medicare out of hundreds of thousands of dollars or more each year. As we would like to explain, there can be significant rewards for this type of information." http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com
According to a February 2015 Department of Justice press release, Good Shepherd Hospice Inc., Good Shepherd Hospice of Mid America Inc., Good Shepherd Hospice, Wichita, L.L.C., Good Shepherd Hospice, Springfield, L.L.C. and Good Shepherd Hospice – Dallas L.L.C. (collectively Good Shepherd) agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that Good Shepherd submitted false claims for hospice patients who were not terminally ill.
The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "The government alleged that Good Shepherd knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for hospice care for patients who were not terminally ill. Specifically, the United States alleged that Good Shepherd engaged in certain business practices that contributed to claims being submitted for patients who did not have a terminal prognosis of six months or less, by pressuring staff to meet admissions and census targets and paying bonuses to staff, including hospice marketers, admissions nurses and executive directors, based on the number of patients enrolled.
"The United States further alleged that Good Shepherd hired medical directors based on their ability to refer patients, focusing particularly on medical directors with ties to nursing homes, which were seen as an easy source of patient referrals. The United States also alleged that Good Shepherd failed to properly train staff on the hospice eligibility criteria."
In this instance the whistleblowers will receive approximately $680,000.
Simple rules for a whistleblower from the Corporate Whistleblower Center:
- Do not go to the government first if you are a major whistleblower. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "Major whistleblowers frequently go to the federal government thinking they will help. It's a huge mistake."
- Do not go to the news media with your whistleblower information. Public revelation of a whistleblower's information could destroy any prospect for a reward.
- Do not try to force a government contractor or corporation to come clean to the government about their wrongdoing.
The Corporate Whistleblower Center wants to emphasize there are high quality whistleblowers in every state including California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, or Washington.
Any type of insider or employee who possesses significant proof of their employer or a government contractor defrauding the federal government is encouraged to contact Corporate Whistleblower Center anytime at 866-714-6466 or via their website at http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com
For attribution please refer to the February 2015 United States Department of Justice press release related to this mater. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-settles-false-claims-act-suit-against-good-shepherd-hospice-inc-and-related
Case number: The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Cordingley and Jones v. Good Shepherd Hospice, Mid America, Inc., No. 4:11-cv-1087 (W.D. Mo.).
Media Contact:
M. Thomas Martin
866-714-6466