Nursing Home and Hospice Fraud Lawyer Chicago

When a nursing home or hospice engages in fraud, it is often up to a whistleblower to expose it. A whistleblower has legal protections from retaliation, and a successful whistleblower who has filed a False Claims Act case is eligible for an award. But they will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. At Rosenblat Law, we have decades of experience helping people who have come forward to report fraud in various industries. Contact the experienced whistleblower attorneys at the Rosenblat Law Firm if you have any knowledge of nursing home or hospice fraud, or other health care fraud.

What is Nursing Home and Hospice Fraud?

Nursing home care is generally for elderly people who are unable to care for themselves because illness or disability prevents them from doing so. Hospice care—aka palliative care—is about assisting terminally ill patients who only have a few months left to live. The aim of both nursing homes and hospices is to provide sick or elderly people who are unable to take care of themselves with the care, support, and dignity that they need. These are often paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, or other government programs.

Billing For Unqualified Patients

One of the most common types of hospice fraud is accepting patients who do not qualify for hospice care and then billing Medicaid or Medicare for their care. Since hospice care is meant to be short term, the fraudulent facilities are able to bill healthcare programs for a longer time than they normally would, which leads to millions of dollars fraudulently billed to the government. 

Overbilling

Some nursing homes and hospice care facilities charge higher rates for treatment or medication. They may also charge for treatment or medication that was never provided to their patients. 

Performing Unnecessary Medical Treatments

On the opposite end of charging for treatment that was never provided, some facilities perform unnecessary medical treatments or therapies and then charge the government.

Kickbacks

Some hospices will offer incentives to doctors or nursing homes so that they will refer patients to their facilities in the future. This practice can be a violation of the anti-kickback statute.

How to Fight Back Against Nursing Home and Hospice Care Fraud

The best way to combat fraud in nursing homes and hospices is for a whistleblower to come forward and expose the facility. The whistleblower can use the False Claims Act (FCA) to file a complaint under seal, which allows the government to investigate before the complaint is made public. If the lawsuit is successful, then the whistleblower can receive a reward that is a share of the funds recovered by the government. 

Whistleblowers are protected against retaliation from their employer in the form of termination, harassment, demotion, or other kinds of retribution. 

Contact Us If You Have Knowledge of Nursing Home or Hospice Fraud in Chicago or Nationwide

The exposure of nursing home and hospice fraud is important for the sake of the people in those facilities as well as to stop fraud against government healthcare programs. Anyone with knowledge of nursing home or hospice fraud in Chicago should contact us first. At Rosenblat Law, we will perform a thorough evaluation of your case to determine its strengths and weaknesses. We can file a complaint, on behalf of the government, against the facility in question and work to ensure that you get the reward you deserve from a successful case.