◆ Geisinger Community Health Services (GCHS), which is part of Geisinger Health in Pennsylvania, agreed to pay $18.5 million to settle allegations of civil liability in connection with home health and hospice services, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Nov. 1.^[1] According to the settlement, GCHS furnishes hospice and home health care services to Medicare beneficiaries through affiliates, including SUN Home Health Services Inc., Columbia Montour Home Health, HoIy Spirit Home Health, and Geisinger Home Health.^[2] GCHS made two separate self-disclosures, in January and June 2020, to the U.S. attorney’s office. The government alleged it has certain claims against GCHS, including unjust enrichment, arising from the submission of Medicare claims from Jan. 1, 2012, to Dec. 31, 2017, (1) for hospice services provided by SUN Home Health Services that violated Medicare rules on physician certifications of terminal illness and patient elections of hospice care; and (2) for home health services provided by SUN Home Health Services, Columbia Montour Home Health, HoIy Spirit Home Health, and Geisinger Home Health that violated Medicare rules on physician face-to-face encounters with patients. In a statement, Geisinger said “as part of a routine self-audit, Geisinger uncovered billing deficiencies related to home health and hospice services from 2012 to 2017. We promptly took corrective action, notified the federal government and cooperated fully with the government leading up to this settlement. Since uncovering these deficiencies, we have conducted follow-up audits that have shown 100 percent compliance, and we do not anticipate any further billing deficiencies related to these services.”