Forefront Living Hospice settled for $1,959,718.74 after self-disclosing to OIG that it billed Medicare for hospice attending physician services performed by nurse practitioners and by non-enrolled or patient-unselected physicians.

Forefront Living Hospice (Dallas, TX) — Incorrect Provider Billing

Outcome: Settled for $1,959,718.74 after self-disclosing to OIG that it billed Medicare for hospice physician services performed by nurse practitioners and by non-enrolled or patient-unselected physicians.

Forefront Living Hospice, operating in Dallas, Texas under the names Fatih Presbyterian Hospice and T. Bonne Pickels Hospice and Palliative Care Center, submitted Medicare claims for hospice attending physician services that did not accurately reflect the providers who actually delivered care. The violation involved two patterns: billing for services performed by nurse practitioners as if delivered by physicians, and billing for attending physician services by providers who were either not enrolled in Medicare or not the physician chosen by the patient.

Under Medicare hospice rules, the attending physician must be a physician (not a nurse practitioner in the billing role), must be enrolled in Medicare, and must be the specific physician chosen by the patient at the time of hospice election. Forefront's billing practices violated all three requirements through systemic incorrect provider identification.

The organization self-disclosed the conduct to HHS-OIG and entered a settlement agreement. The case was resolved on January 30, 2026, for $1,959,718.74 under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law.

Primary Source: Forefront Living Hospice Agreed to Pay $1.9 Million for Allegedly Violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law