Eli's Hospice Insider

Aggressive marketing goals and sham medical director payments have led to a hefty settlement for an Atlanta hospice.

From 2013 to 2017, STG Healthcare of Atlanta Inc. submitted claims for patients who weren’t terminally ill, the Department of Justice says in a release. “STG Healthcare’s business practices — setting aggressive goals for enrolling patients and failing to supervise properly the admission practices of its staff and medical directors — resulted in the submission of claims for ineligible patients,” the DOJ maintains.

STG Healthcare, operating as Interim Healthcare of Atlanta, also paid a referring physician to be a “back up” medical director, but the doc did not serve as a legitimate hospice physician, the government contends.

STG and its senior executives, Paschal “Pat” Gilley and Mathew Gilley, agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle the charges that were sparked by a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former employees Serita Samuel and Miranda Eskridge.

“Hospice is not a blank check for unscrupulous medical providers willing to admit patients who are not terminally ill,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak in the release. “We will … continue to prioritize cases where it appears that a medical decision, especially the decision to forego curative treatment, has been influenced by a kickback.”