The first-to-file bar’s focus is on the facts alleged, not the claims brought, and therefore, two actions are deemed related if they incorporate the same material elements of fraud.
A federal district court in Alabama has granted in part and denied in part the Motion to Dismiss filed by Comfort Care Hospice, LLC (Comfort Care or Provider) in a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit brought by nurses (Relators) who claimed that the Provider violated the FCA when it enrolled hospice patients who were ineligible for enrollment, and certified or re-certified eligibility without adhering to rules as to physician’s evaluation and other requirements. However, where the Relators’ Complaint was found to be related to an action filed previously and which was still pending, the first-to-file bar led to dismissal, but without prejudice (U.S. ex rel. Bryant v. Comfort Care Hospice, LLC, No. 2:20-cv-00911-ECM-KFP (M.D. Ala. Feb. 19, 2026)).
Hospice enrollment eligibility. In order for a hospice claim to be eligible for Medicare reimbursement, the patient’s attending physician and the medical director of the hospice provider must each certify in writing that the individual is terminally ill based on the physician’s or medical director’s clinical judgment regarding the normal course of the individual’s illness. A patient is considered “terminally ill” if his or her life expectancy is six months or less. An attending physician must certify that a patient is terminally ill within the first ninety...
The first-to-file bar’s focus is on the facts alleged, not the claims brought, and therefore, two actions are deemed related if they incorporate the same material elements of fraud. A federal dist...