Hospice provider Care Alternatives, doing business as Ascend Health, has been cleared of Medicare hospice fraud allegations in a case that has twisted and turned through the courts for 13 years. The decision follows years of various courts overturning each other’s rulings, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case.
The litigation arose in 2008 when whistleblowers, former Care Alternatives employees, filed a qui tam lawsuit against the company for allegedly making fraudulent claims to Medicare for patients who were not eligible for hospice care. In a qui tam action, a whistleblower, called a“relator” by the courts, files a False Claims Act suit on behalf of the government and possibly receives a portion of any funds recovered by the government via the lawsuit, typically ranging from 15% to 25%.
“Upon review of the record, the Court concludes that Plaintiff-Relators have again failed to produce sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact on the element of materiality,” U.S. District Judge Juan Sanchez in Camden, N.J., wrote in his decision. “Summary judgment will therefore again be entered in favor of Care Alternatives.”
The lawsuit is United States ex rel. Druding v. Care Alternatives. Navigating the legal action has been a long journey for Care Alternatives. In 2018, a distinct court found in favor of Care Alternatives on the grounds that the relators had failed to show falsity. Later, the Third Court of Appeals reversed that decision. The...
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