Care Alternatives Defeats Whistleblowers’ Hospice Fraud Suit

Four whistleblowers failed to adequately allege that Care Alternatives Inc. violated the False Claims Act by providing hospice care to patients who lacked Medicare eligibility, a district court said.

The former Care Alternatives employees’ suit fails for lack of materiality because they didn’t show that the company’s alleged failure to provide proper medical certification for the services affected Medicare’s payment decisions, Judge Juan R. Sanchez of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey said in a decision issued Wednesday granting the company summary judgment.

There is no evidence that Care Alternatives’ insufficiently documented certifications induced the government ...