JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A chain of hospices in four states has agreed to settle a whistleblower lawsuit concerning overbilling for $5.9 million.
The settlement between the federal government and the St. Joseph Hospice chain, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was announced Thursday in Jackson.
Federal prosecutors say St. Joseph was driving up Medicare payments by billing for continuous care to patients who weren't eligible under federal rules.
Owner Pat Mitchell denies wrongdoing, saying billing rules are unclear and that the company tried to provide the best care for patients.
As people who brought the fraud to the government's attention, three former employees who sued St. Joseph in 2012 in Gulfport, Mississippi, will split more than $1 million under the False Claims Act.
Mitchell owns 13 hospices in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama.
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