Saad Enterprises Agrees to $3 Million Settlement Over False Claims Act Violation
Saad Enterprises Inc., operating as Saad Healthcare, has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting fraudulent claims for hospice care in Alabama. The claims in question were for patients who were not terminally ill and thus did not meet the eligibility criteria for Medicare's hospice benefit.
Hospice care is a specialized form of end-of-life support, aimed at providing comfort to patients with terminal illnesses. For Medicare patients to be eligible for hospice care, they must have a life expectancy of six months or less due to their terminal condition. Patients in hospice forgo traditional treatments meant to cure their illness and instead receive care focused on alleviating symptoms and stress.
"Respectful and appropriate end-of-life care is the crux of the hospice benefit under Medicare,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will hold accountable those who exploit this benefit for their own gain.”
The settlement resolves claims that, between 2013 and 2020, Saad submitted or facilitated fraudulent claims for 21 patients who did not qualify for the Medicare hospice benefit. These patients were not terminally ill as defined by the law and regulations governing Medicare hospice care. Saad was fully aware that these patients did not meet...
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