Dallas-based home healthcare and hospice provider Intrepid U.S.A. will pay $3.85 million after two alleged False Claims Act violations.
The allegations stem from Medicare claims made between 2016 and 2021, according to an Aug. 20 news release from the Department of Justice
In the first violation, the DOJ alleged that 19 of Intrepid's home healthcare facilities knowingly submitted Medicare claims for patients or services that did not qualify for reimbursement.
The second violation alleges Intrepid hospice facilities admitted patients who were ineligible for Medicare hospice benefit because, "they were not terminally ill." Intrepid allegedly continued to provide care for patients who no longer met the hospice benefit and should have been discharged.
The violations against Intrepid stem from two separate lawsuits brought by former Intrepid employees under the False Claims Act whistleblower provisions. As part of the settlement, the whistleblowers will receive a small portion of the proceeds, according to the release.