Incentive Compensation: What's New?

A hospice that provides services in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Texas recently agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims under the federal False Claims Act.  The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that the hospice knowingly submitted or caused submission of false claims for hospice care for patients who were not terminally ill.  Specifically, the Justice Department claimed that the hospice engaged in certain business practices that contributed to submission of claims for patients who did not have a prognosis of six months of less.  These business practices included pressuring staff to meet admissions and census targets; and paying bonuses to staff, including hospice marketers, admissions nurses and executive directors based on the number of patients admitted.

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