FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CIV

THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2006 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Odyssey Healthcare to Pay U.S. $12.9

Million to Resolve Hospice Fraud Case
WASHINGTON – Odyssey HealthCare, a national hospice provider, has paid the
United States $12.9 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false
claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. The Dallas-based
company is alleged to have billed Medicare for services provided to hospice patients
who were not terminally ill and therefore were ineligible for the Medicare hospice
benefit.

The settlement, which covers a period from 2001 to 2005, also resolves charges
originally brought against Odyssey HealthCare by a former regional vice president,
JoAnne Russell. As part of the settlement, Ms. Russell will receive $2,326,500 for
bringing the matter to the attention of the government. Under the qui tam or
whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, a private party can file an action
on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the settlement if the
government takes over the case and prosecutes it successfully.

“The fiscal integrity of the Medicare hospice benefit program depends upon
compliance with eligibility standards ,” said Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney
General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The United States will take
action against providers that fail to comply with those standards.”

Odyssey HealthCare has also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the
Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. The
Corporate Integrity Agreement addresses the company's practices regarding
compliance with applicable Medicare regulations.

This settlement was the result of a collaborative investigation involving the

Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of Wisconsin, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas,
and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General.

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