CDR Due Diligence on Kindred/Curo Hospice

Strange Tony,

Financial rapscallion Clayton, Dubilier and Rice conducted due diligence on Kindred Hospice and Community Care before agreeing to buy 60% from Humana for $2.8 billion in cash.  

Did they find the June 1, 2021 False Claim lawsuit against Kindred/Curo Hospice CEO Larry Graham before inking the deal? 

Thus, by knowingly submitting false claims or causing the submission of false claims, and knowingly concealing or knowingly and improperly avoiding Avalon’s obligations to repay overpayments, for hospice services provided to Medicare and TennCare beneficiaries in Tennessee who were not terminally ill from at least January 1, 2010 through February 20, 2020, Defendants are liable under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq. (the “FCA”), the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 71-5-182 to -185 (the “TMFCA”), and common law theories of payment by mistake and unjust enrichment.

The lawsuit misses Kindred at Home's ownership of Curo, as well as Humana and its financial rapscallion partners (TPG Capital and WCAS) packaging the two companies in a summer 2018 buyout.

Humana was the operating partner of Kindred at Home from July 2018 through February 2020 and responsible for any fraudulent claims made to Medicare/Medicaid.

In approximately late 2018 or early 2019, at least two former Avalon nurses repeatedly raised concerns regarding ineligible patients to Avalon and Curo managers, including the Avalon Johnson City DOO, medical director, and the lead nurse, as well as the Curo Area Vice President of Operations, about patients who were not eligible for hospice. When these nurses informed the DOO that certain referred patients were ineligible, the DOO responded that “corporate” was requiring that the patients be admitted.

Similarly, in early 2020, Avalon Nashville terminated a former nurse after she repeatedly informed the current Nashville DOO that referrals or patients were not eligible for hospice, including numerous patients who were residents at Hillcrest Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility in Ashland City. For example, one Hillcrest patient who the nurse did not think was hospice appropriate informed the nurse that Hillcrest had told her the only way she could continue to stay at the facility was to elect hospice. When this former nurse did not believe a referred patient was eligible, the Nashville DOO sent a different nurse to evaluate the patient.

Humana pushed the Curo Health model on Kindred Hospice sites in 2019.  That's how Larry Graham became Hospice CEO.  It's not clear how much Graham profited from the multiple sales of Curo/Kindred at Home in 2018 through today?  How much more will he make when CDR acquires their controlling interest?  The public will likely never know.

Anonymous

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