Home Health & Hospice Week

A New Orleans hospice administrator has pleaded guilty to falsifying records in connection with a Medicare audit of her hospice, the Department of Justice says in a release.

Registered Nurse Suzanne May’s unnamed employer underwent Medicare audits in 2015 and 2017. After being hit with a $383,000 takeback for insufficiently documented claims the first time, May and other employees “altered and falsified patient records to hide the fact that Company 1 lacked required medical records to justify bills submitted to Medicare” in the second audit, the DOJ says.

For example: Employees added the initials of deceased patients to paperwork, whited out information in records, and created false notes, May admitted.

“Despite the falsifications, Medicare nonetheless determined that Company 1’s patient records were still largely deficient,” the DOJ adds. May faces up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.