An Georgia-based hospice company has agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve allegations that owners and managers entered into kickback arrangements with medical directors in exchange for referrals of hospice patients to the company, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
The case began when a former employee of Tapestry Hospice of Northwest Georgia filed a whistleblower complaint alleging alleged kickbacks that included monthly stipends and a signing bonus paid to the medical directors. The compensation allegedly increased when the medical director referred more patients and decreased when the medical director failed to make referrals.