Developments in a False Claims Act (FCA) suit involving Curo Health Services signal that mounting a defense may become more complicated for accused hospices.
Regulators and investigators have sharpened their gaze on alleged False Claims Act violations by hospice providers, as well as the closely related anti-kickback statute, sometimes resulting in multi-million settlements. These cases often hinge on the question of patient eligibility for hospice care based on a six-month terminal prognosis.
In the Curo Case, the court rejected the company’s motion to dismiss, saying that the government sufficiently alleged that the hospice physician’s medical opinion may have been inaccurate or dishonestly held.
This ruling does not assign any guilt to Curo at this time, but it does mean that the court felt that the government’s allegations were sufficiently credible to continue the proceedings.
“I think it signals that at least [the Middle Tennessee District Court] is going to be pretty open to giving the government and whistleblowers some leeway in how they plead their False Claims Act cases,” Chris Sabis, member of the law firm Sherrard, Roe, Voigt & Harbison, told Hospice News. “I think that providers should be aware that based on this decision — just to use an old saying — one bad apple can spoil the bunch.”
Sabis is a former assistant U.S. attorney who has worked on FCA cases.
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