Reporting hospice fraud
This article shows you how to get a reward for reporting Medicare/Medicaid fraud by reporting hospice fraud
Examples of hospice fraud
It is Medicare fraud for a hospice to bill for or receive duplicate payments by billing both Medicare and Medicaid.
It is also hospice fraud to bill Medicare or Medicaid for beneficiaries or patients who are not terminally ill, but are still enrolled in hospice.
Another example or form of hospice fraud is billing for services not provided or fraudulently billing for more visits than provided.
Tips for reporting hospice fraud
To get a whistleblower reward for reporting hospice fraud it is not sufficient to call a Medicare fraud hotline. Rather, to apply for a reward for reporting hospice fraud you must use a lawyer (on a contingency basis) to file qui tam suit under the False Claims Act.
In addition, your lawyer must follow the exact procedures of the whistleblower reward statute to get a reward for reporting cheating or defrauding Medicare or government healthcare programs.
Moreover, you need to have specific and detailed evidence of hospice fraud. The government needs your help in uncovering fraudulent billing hospice services. However, because most whistleblower reward applications lack specific proof or contain other defects, the government turns away 75% of reward claims. That’s why selecting an experienced attorney that has handled Medicare fraud cases is very important.
How much reward for reporting a hospice fraud?
The amount of a whistleblower reward for reporting hospice fraud is based upon the amount the government recovers back, and the reward is between 15% and 25% of what the government collects from the hospice company cheating Medicare. For instance, if a hospice is cheating Medicare by $10 million, the amount of the whistleblower reward could be between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
How to report a hospice fraud and get a whistleblower reward
This website (and the books authored by Mr. Hesch) walk you step-by-step through the entire process of reporting hospice fraud and shows you how to obtain a whistleblower reward.
Mr. Hesch has considerable experience with investigating Medicare fraud against the federal government while working for 15 years at the Civil Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., which is the office with nationwide authority over the whistleblower reward program. He now represents whistleblowers and confidentially reviews information to determine whether and how to report hospice fraud.
The link at the bottom of the page below “Do I have a case” shows you how to ask Mr. Hesch to review your allegations that a hospice company fraudulently billed Medicare or another government healthcare program.
Click on this link to read this article in pdf format: How to report hospice fraud and get a whistleblower reward PDF version