End of Life Care Scare: Passages Hospice Charged with Fraud

Credit: triblocal.com

Seth Gillman of Lincolnwood, Illinois has been charged with health care fraud for manipulating the end of life care needs of his patients. The owner of hospice and end of life care center Passages, Gillman told his nurses to exaggerate the gravity of care for patients – which would more than triple the cost of routine care rates.

“In many instances,” reports Chicago Tribune, “patients were not terminally ill and wound up enrolled in hospice care far longer than the required life expectancy of six months or less.”

Passages owner Seth Gillman.
(Credit: youtube.com)

The cost of one patient’s years at Passages cost Medicare $192,000, and the patient’s son says his mother was in no danger of dying “until the last month of her life.” In this instance, was the four years of exhaustive treatment really necessary?

“In this instance, was the four years of exhaustive treatment really necessary?”

The cost of end of life care is both financially and emotionally draining. To realize that Gillman was pressuring his employees to change patient charts reveals the need for consistent, informed decision-making as we manage a loved one’s end of life care.

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“Gillman kept his network of regional directors in line by paying them fat bonuses,” says Chicago Tribune, and gave himself bonuses exceeding $830,000.

“Gillman gave himself bonuses exceeding $830,000.”

If convicted for his charges of health care fraud and obstructing a federal audit, Gillman will face 15 years in jail and hundreds of thousands of dollars in prison fines. It’s a well-deserved penance for Passages — and a reminder for the public to keep their end of life decisions consistently informed.

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