Lawsuit accuses national hospice of improperly cycling patients

A whistleblower lawsuit and federal attorneys are accusing a national hospice company of improperly cycling patients through nursing homes and hospice to maximize profits from Medicare. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for North Alabama against AseraCare, a hospice company based in Fort Smith, Ark., with operations in 19 states. Dawn Richardson, a nurse manager, and Marsha Brown, a who ran several AseraCare offices in Alabama, brought the lawsuit under the False Claims Act, which entitles whistleblowers to a portion of money recovered by the government. U.S. attorneys joined the lawsuit last week. Attorneys for AseraCare, which is owned by Golden Living, denied any wrongdoing.