Hospice care is end-of-life medical care and emotional support for dying individuals and their families. If you have ever gone through hospice with a family member, you know that it an extremely vulnerable time for everyone involved. It is not an area of medicine that I usually associate with fraud, but as I have said before in other blog posts if government money is involved, there are opportunities for fraud. And if there is fraud involving government money, there is an opportunity to become a whistleblower.
If you knowingly sell the government a product that does not meet government specifications—whether it is a missile, a mammogram machine, or mortgage-backed security—you are violating the False Claims Act, a 150-year-old law written to prevent war profiteering. You also cannot bilk the federal government by overcharging for services or pay kickbacks to attain contracts you aren’t entitled to. Because patients immersed in the hospice process are so vulnerable, there is a tremendous opportunity to defraud them or to entice them or their families to purchase unnecessary services. If you are considering becoming a whistleblower here in Mississippi, you will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505 to attain the guidance you require.
Hospice Care, an Overview
Hospice care commences when a patient is certified as “terminally ill.” “Terminally ill” means that a person has less than six months to live and will no longer benefit from curative medical care. A patient is typically certified for hospice care for 90 days, which can be renewed for another 90 days afterwards.
Types of Hospice Care Kickbacks
There is a broad diversity of the kinds of hospice fraud, including kickbacks. Kickbacks occur when a person exchanges money, services, or goods in exchange for another business directing customers towards their business. Hospice kickbacks traditionally arise when a hospice provides free or heavily discounted nursing services to a nursing home. Hospice offers these services with the understanding that the nursing home will push the patient towards the hospice facility when he or she becomes terminally ill. Another classic type of kickback involves providing nursing homes with free or discounted goods in exchange for patient referrals. Finally, sometimes hospice services refer patients to nursing homes, expecting similar treatment in return.
These types of kickbacks are illegal because they give the hospice provider an additional advantage over competition based on the benefits provided to the nursing home, not on their superior performance. This sort of strategy to gain financial or market advantage is illegal under the False Claims Act. If you have witnessed these sorts of kickbacks, you may be able to attain a substantial reward as a whistleblower.
What Should You Do if You are Considering a Hospice Fraud Whistleblower Claim
Are you considering filing a whistleblower case regarding hospice care kickbacks or any other area of the health care industry? The reward for submitting a successful claim can be massive, but you will only reap this sort of award with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. The United States Department of Justice gets thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that are reported in a way that triggers their interest are investigated. Careful pleading is key to this process and will require the help of an experienced whistleblower counsel. Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505.
Experienced whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.
