San Luis Obispo Hospice Fraud Lawyer

Hospice fraud cases are on the rise, and it is critical for older adults and their family members to understand how this harmful practice tends to work. Anytime an assisted-living or skilled nursing facility recommends hospice care for a senior without a terminal an obvious illness, you should exercise caution and should seek immediate advice from an experienced San Luis Obispo hospice fraud lawyer. If your elderly loved one enters into unnecessary hospice care, it may be impossible for them to receive the medical care they actually need, and hospice care may result in an untimely and preventable death.

What signs should alert you to the possibility of hospice fraud in San Luis Obispo? You should be concerned if any of the following occur:

• Assisted-living facility suggests hospice care, but your loved one has not been diagnosed with a terminal illness;
• Hospice care has been suggested as an option for an residential care or nursing facility resident that needs treatment in a hospital or at a nursing home; or
• Assisted-living facility has said hospice care is not just for the terminally ill.

What is hospice fraud in San Luis Obispo County and how does it happen? Hospice fraud can take different forms, but it usually involves an assisted-living facility convincing a resident's family to opt for hospice care instead of taking the resident to the hospital to receive treatment. This suggestion will usually come when an assisted-living facility resident has a condition, disease, or injury that requires treatment at the hospital. You will also likely be told that hospice care is less expensive because it is covered by Medicare or Medi-Cal.

Here is what the facility will not tell you, which is essential to know: Hospice care is not intended for anyone who has the ability to get better. Rather, as the National Institute on Aging emphasizes, it is only for people who are terminally ill. Hospice care does not treat conditions or injuries. As such, patients who receive hospice care when they need treatment will typically worsen and could die. The assisted-living facility is likely suggesting hospice care in order to profit and, in some cases, to receive kickbacks from hospices.

Do you have concerns about an elderly loved one in a San Luis Obispo County assisted-living facility related to hospice fraud? If you have received any indication from the facility where your parent or other elderly loved one lives suggesting that hospice care may be appropriate even though there is no terminal illness, it is time to seek legal help. Hospice fraud is a serious problem throughout Southern California, and it can result in assisted-living facility residents suffering fatal harm.

One of the experienced San Luis Obispo County hospice fraud lawyers at our firm can help you with a claim. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group to learn more about how we can assist you.