Gentiva, successor to Kindred at Home, has agreed to pay $19.428 million to resolve allegations that Kindred at Home and related entities knowingly submitted false claims and knowingly retained overpayments for hospice services provided to patients who were ineligible to receive hospice benefits under various federal health care programs.
The settlement resolves allegations made in Tennessee, as well as Alabama, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas, according to a Department of Justice statement.
Further, the settlement resolves allegations that one of the locations allegedly violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by willfully paying renumeration to a consulting physician.
The settlement includes the resolution of claims in nine lawsuits brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by various current and former Kindred employees. The share of the settlement to be received by the whistleblowers has not yet been determined.