CURO Health Services Hit with False Claims Suit

Strange Tony,

The U.S. Department of Justice announced a case against Curo Health Services' Avalon Hospice for filing false claims with Medicare and Medicaid.  The suit states:

Since at least 2010, the defendants violated the False Claims Act and the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing to be submitted false claims, and knowingly and improperly concealing or avoiding Avalon’s obligation to repay overpayments, for hospice services provided to patients who were ineligible for the Medicare or Medicaid hospice benefit because they were not terminally ill.

The complaint alleges that the defendants pressured staff at their Tennessee hospice agencies to maximize admissions and census through aggressive financial targets and incentives, while simultaneously discouraging the discharge of patients who were no longer eligible for the Medicare or Medicaid hospice benefit.  

 The DOJ press release occurred on June 1. 2021.  

This isn't Curo's first brush with the Department of Justice.  Curo Health's Hospice Plus paid a $12.2 million fine in 2017 for paying for referrals.

Greed and bad management practices frequently come with private equity ownership.  Curo CEO Larry Graham was put in charge of the hospice division  Larry Graham was in charge for behavior that resulted in both DOJ cases.

I expect more false claim cases against our hospice division given Kindred Hospice adopted Curo's entrepreneurial platform for hospice. That's what financial rapscallions and Humana ownership did for us, besides ruining the quality of care provided.

Anonymous

Humana to Ditch Hospice

Strange Tony,

Our hospice is being sold yet again.  Humana held its Investor Day and bragged on the return it may get.  Rest assured my coworkers have seen very little reward for the torment we've endured under Humana and two financial rapscallions.

The rug was pulled out from under long suffering employees who said, "Just wait until Humana buys the rest of us.  Things will get better."  No, they will not.

With every buyout the level of staff abuse increased.  Humana's abuse has been particularly cruel to both staff and the quality of hospice care delivered.

Home health will stay with Humana and be forced to grow fee-for-service business while saving Humana money on its various insurance products.   The Kindred name will disappear, replaced by Humana's payor agnostic CenterWell.  One could put the green Humana H in the middle of that and get CenterHell.  

That's likely the future of healthcare.

Anonymous