Hospice owner gets 3 years in prison, will pay $2.5 million, for faking reports
Paula Kluding concealed the true medical condition of Prairie View Hospice’s patients in order to “pass” a Medicare audit.
From 2010 to 2013, Paula Kluding concealed the true medical condition of Prairie View Hospice's patients in order to "pass" a Medicare audit and to fraudulently obtain money from Medicare, according to evidence presented at trial.
The owner of Prairie View Hospice in Oklahoma will pay $2.5 million in restitution and serve three years in prison starting August 28, after a jury convicted her of Medicare fraud, according to the Department of Justice in the Western District of Oklahoma.
From 2010 to 2013, Paula Kluding, 39, concealed the true medical condition of Prairie View Hospice's patients in order to "pass" a Medicare audit and to fraudulently obtain money from Medicare, according to evidence presented at trial.
[Also: Running list of notable 2015 healthcare frauds]
Nursing notes were falsified to make it appear that patients were in worse health than they actually were to justify the patient's continued hospice care.
Also, medical documents were falsified to make it appear that nurses had visited patients or conducted necessary assessments when such visits and assessments had not been made.
In addition, Prairie View Hospice sent the falsified documents to a Medicare subcontractor in response to requests to audit patient files.
Follow Healthcare Finance on Twitter and LinkedIn.
A jury returned a guilty verdict on 39 separate counts relating to Medicare fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of a federal audit, and making false statements in healthcare matter.
Kluding must report on August 28 to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence. She will also have three years of supervised release following her prison sentence.
Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN
