SouthernCare Inc. Settles Hospice False Claims Case
SouthernCare Inc. and its shareholders have agreed to pay the United States a total of $24.7 million to settle allegations that the Birmingham, Ala.-based company submitted false claims to the government for patients treated at its hospice facilities, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney for the North District of Alabama. SouthernCare operates approximately 99 locations that provide hospice services in 15 states. The government alleged that SouthernCare was submitting false claims for hospice care for patients who were not eligible for such care.
The settlement is the result of two False Claims Act cases filed by two former SouthernCare employees, Tanya Rice and Nancy Romeo. The United States will pay $4.9 million to the individuals who filed the actions against SouthernCare.
The investigation was jointly handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI.
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