On February 21, the government announced that Saad Enterprises Inc. (DBA Saad Healthcare) will pay $3 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act from 2013-2020 by submitting false claims for the care of 21 Alabama-based Medicare ineligible hospice patients who were not terminally ill.

Hospice is end-of-life palliative care for terminally ill patients who move away from traditional curative treatments. Medicare patients are deemed “terminally ill” and “hospice-eligible” when their life expectancy is six months or less.

U.S. Attorney Keith A. Jones for the Southern District of Alabama said, “Caring for terminally ill people is a responsibility the United States and the Medicare program take seriously.” He explained that “patients and taxpayers deserve not to be cheated, and the Department of Justice will continue to protect them.”

This settlement involved two whistleblowers who are former Saad employees, Melissa Wolff and Whitney Sims. The whistleblowers filed their lawsuit under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act and will receive $540,000 from the settlement.

Constantine Cannon whistleblower partner Alysia Solow explained, “Under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act, private parties can file lawsuits on behalf of the government and receive up to 30% of the government’s recovery. This is the kind of enforcement action we applaud at our firm, as we typically represent whistleblowers reporting such violations.”

If you would like more information on what it means to be a whistleblower, believe you have information relating to False Claims Act violations or healthcare fraud, please contact us so we can connect you with a member of the Constantine Cannon whistleblower lawyer team for a free and confidential consultation.

Read A “Saad” Case of Medicare Fraud: Saad Healthcare Pays $3M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations at constantinecannon.com