Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Odyssey CEO resigns as earnings falter.

Is a Department of Justice investigation of Odyssey Health Care Inc. an isolated incident or the start of an industry-wide crackdown?

The DOJ's False Claims Act investigation of Dallas-based Odyssey covers claims submitted since Jan. 1, 2000. It focuses on patient admissions, patient retention and billing, Odyssey says in a release.

Odyssey has a record of serving fewer high-cost cancer patients than competitors, analysts told The New York Times.

The chain with 72 locations in 30 states also is facing a number of shareholder lawsuits, which were sparked by the company exceeding its per-patient aggregate cap in a previous quarter. The suits charge Odyssey with admitting patients ineligible for the hospice benefit, providing below-standard care due to heavy workloads and other financial misdeeds.

Odyssey says it is cooperating with the DOJ investigation, but maintains "it has a longstanding and ongoing employee training and regulatory compliance program, including a mechanism for employees to alert management anonymously of issues."

Heads roll: CEO and President David Gasmire has resigned after nine months in the post, and former CEO Richard Burnham will reassume the duties, the company says. Burnham is currently the chairman.