Advanced Search

Home Health & Hospice Week

Lawsuits:

Brace For More Whistleblower Suits In Home Care

Published on Fri Feb 10, 2012

The damage a qui tam lawsuit does to your reputation may be as bad as the financial penalty. The home care industry continues to grow, and so does your risk of falling victim to a whistleblower lawsuit. In fiscal year 2011, whistleblower lawsuits accounted for more than $2.2 billion in health care fraud recoveries, notes Washington, D.C. law firm Dow Lohnes on its website. Whistleblowers were awarded more than $470 million in the suits, according to Department of Justice statistics. Multiple high-profile whistleblower cases in the home care industry have been settled in recent months. Home health agency chains Maxim Healthcare Services and LHC Group paid out $150 million and $65 million, respectively, to settle qui tam cases joined by the government (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XX, Nos. 33 and 36). And hospice chain AseraCare Hospice is currently battling a whistleblower suit filed by two former nurse employees (see Eli's [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Home Health & Hospice Week

View All