The U.S. Justice Department has decided to join in a federal lawsuit filed by two Colorado whistleblowers; it alleges that a national palliative care provider improperly billed Medicare millions of dollars for hospice services provided to patients who weren’t terminally ill. The suit against Optum Palliative and Hospice Care claims that the company offered hefty bonuses to employees who kept the numbers of patients up and fired those who attempted to weed out patients who weren’t eligible for hospice benefits.

“Hospice care plays a critical role in our health care system, providing for end-of-life care as opposed to curative life care,” said John Walsh, Colorado’s U.S. Attorney, in a statement announcing the…