Literature Review

Hospice worker accused of exploiting patient, steals $7K CBS12 News, Tampa, FL; by Skyler Shepard; 3/12/25 A hospice worker is accused of financially exploiting a hospice patient under her care. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) said deputies responded to a delayed fraud report on March 4 on Clubhouse Circle, where the victim, receiving hospice care, reported being defrauded by a home health assistant. The sheriff's office said the fraudulent activity reportedly began on January 28. The suspect, identified as Shawn Livingston, allegedly persuaded the victim to use Zelle for service payments and manipulated the transactions to transfer money to her accounts, pay her creditors, and make payments to Carnival Cruises, stealing more than $7,000. On March 7, deputies arrested the 57-year-old woman, who now faces exploitation of an elderly person, fraudulent use of personal information, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and uttering a forged instrument.

DOJ launches probe into UnitedHealth’s Medicare billing practices after investigative reports MSN; by Taylor Herzlich; 3/22/25 The Department of Justice has reportedly launched an investigation into UnitedHealth Group’s Medicare billing practices as scrutiny over the health insurance industry intensifies — sending the company’s stock plummeting.The probe is analyzing the company’s practice of frequently logging diagnoses that trigger larger payments to its Medicare Advantage plans, according to The Wall Street Journal. UnitedHealth shares plunged nearly 9% Friday. A series of Wall Street Journal reports last year found that Medicare paid UnitedHealth billions of dollars for questionable diagnoses.

Hospice provider sues to demand denied employee retention credit Bloomberg Law; by Tristan Navera; 2/13/25 Hospice healthcare provider Passages LLC is contesting the IRS denial of a $663,000 employee retention credit, arguing that it’s eligible for the coronavirus incentive program due to the disruptions it faced during the pandemic. The New Orleans-based company said the IRS wrongly denied its claim for the ERC credit—a program that reimbursed companies for keeping workers on the payroll during the economic disruption caused by Covid-19—for one quarter of 2021. The company endured partial suspension of its operations and should qualify, it told the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

UnitedHealth drops dismissal bid in US suit over Amedisys deal Bloomberg Law; by Justin Wise; 2/6/25 (additional subscription may be required)UnitedHealth Group Inc. is withdrawing its motion to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to block its $3.3 billion acquisition of home-health and hospice services provider Amedisys Inc. and planning to fight the case at trial. In a Wednesday [2/5/25] filing in the US District Court for the District of Maryland, UnitedHealth and Amedisys said that new information provided by the Justice Department eliminated the basis for its request to toss the case at a preliminary stage. The firms previously argued the DOJ was withholding key geographic market information integral to its claim that the tie-up would stifle competition ...