Why this was flagged
An owner matches the federal exclusion list
A person or company listed as an owner or managing party of this provider matches a name on the HHS OIG list of individuals and entities excluded from federal healthcare programs. Names can coincide, so the identity must be confirmed before this means anything.
Source HHS OIG Exclusion List (LEIE) · record as of 18 Sept 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · e6ca62
Medicare paid this provider far more than its peers
In 2024 Medicare paid this provider $902,095,711, against a typical payment of $2,031,868 for the same kind of provider that year. High volume can be legitimate, but extreme outliers are where billing fraud shows up.
Source Medicare Hospice Payments by Provider · record as of 11 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · 5f1f87
Owner is tied to 34 providers
An owner or managing party of this provider (ALEXANDER FERNANDEZ) is listed on 34 separate Medicare enrollments. Chains are legal, but rapid multi-entity accumulation is a common structure in healthcare fraud cases.
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
Owners and managing parties of record
COMFORT CARE HOLDINGS COMPANY
5% OR GREATER INDIRECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST · O · 100% ownership · since Apr 27, 2001
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
VITAS HEALTHCARE CORPORATION
5% OR GREATER INDIRECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST · O · 100% ownership · since Apr 27, 2001
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
VITAS HOSPICE SERVICES, LLC
5% OR GREATER DIRECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST · O · 100% ownership · since Apr 27, 2001
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
BRIAN JUDKINS
CORPORATE OFFICER · I · 0% ownership · since Aug 31, 2020
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
ALEXANDER FERNANDEZ
CORPORATE OFFICER · I · 0% ownership · since Mar 23, 2023
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
BRIAN JUDKINS
CORPORATE DIRECTOR · I · 0% ownership · since Aug 31, 2020
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
ALEXANDER FERNANDEZ
W-2 MANAGING EMPLOYEE · I · 0% ownership · since Mar 23, 2023
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
ROBERT MANGINE
CORPORATE OFFICER · I · 0% ownership · since Jan 8, 2018
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
JOSEPH SHEGA
W-2 MANAGING EMPLOYEE · I · since Sep 27, 2024
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
DAVID P WILLIAMS
CORPORATE DIRECTOR · I · since Dec 31, 2008
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
JOEL WHERLEY
W-2 MANAGING EMPLOYEE · I · since Sep 18, 2024
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
NICHOLAS M WESTFALL
CORPORATE OFFICER · I · since Jun 16, 2016
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
NICHOLAS M WESTFALL
W-2 MANAGING EMPLOYEE · I · since Jun 16, 2016
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
KEVIN MCNAMARA
CORPORATE DIRECTOR · I · since Dec 31, 2008
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
JOEL WHERLEY
CORPORATE OFFICER · I · since Aug 11, 2025
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
JOEL WHERLEY
CORPORATE DIRECTOR · I · since Aug 11, 2025
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
CHEMED CORPORATION
5% OR GREATER DIRECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST · O · since Dec 31, 2008
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
LAUREN N LOFTIS
W-2 MANAGING EMPLOYEE · I · since Sep 27, 2024
Source CMS Hospice All Owners · record as of 19 Aug 2026 · pulled 18 Sept 2026 · version 2026-09-18 · ed1513
Source timeline
Every flag on this provider is built from one or more published government files. Below is each file that contributed, the weekly pulls we have of it, and the actual records read from it.
CMS Hospice All Owners
- Owner is tied to 34 providers
Weekly refreshes
- 18 Sept 2026 (in use)70,444 recordspublisher data as of 19 Aug 2026
Records read from this file
- COMFORT CARE HOLDINGS COMPANY5% OR GREATER INDIRECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST · 100% share · since 2001-04-27
- VITAS HEALTHCARE CORPORATION5% OR GREATER INDIRECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST · 100% share · since 2001-04-27
- VITAS HOSPICE SERVICES, LLC5% OR GREATER DIRECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST · 100% share · since 2001-04-27
- BRIAN JUDKINSCORPORATE OFFICER · 0% share · since 2020-08-31
- ALEXANDER FERNANDEZCORPORATE OFFICER · 0% share · since 2023-03-23
- BRIAN JUDKINSCORPORATE DIRECTOR · 0% share · since 2020-08-31
- ALEXANDER FERNANDEZW-2 MANAGING EMPLOYEE · 0% share · since 2023-03-23
- ROBERT MANGINECORPORATE OFFICER · 0% share · since 2018-01-08
- An owner matches the federal exclusion list
Weekly refreshes
- 21 Sept 2026 (in use)1,000 records(running)
- 18 Sept 202683,953 records
- 18 Sept 202634,978 records(running)
- 18 Sept 202639,976 records(failed)
- 18 Sept 20261,000 records(failed)
Records read from this file
- ALEXANDER FERNANDEZexcluded 2022-03-20 · type 1128a1
- Medicare paid this provider far more than its peers
Weekly refreshes
- 18 Sept 2026 (in use)6,134 recordspublisher data as of 11 Aug 2026
- 18 Sept 20261,000 recordspublisher data as of 11 Aug 2026(running)
Records read from this file
- Vitas Healthcare Corporation Of Florida — 2024$902,095,711 paid · 43,039 patients
CMS Hospice Enrollments
Weekly refreshes
- 18 Sept 2026 (in use)5,802 records5,000 added · 1 changed · 0 removedpublisher data as of 27 Jul 2026
Records read from this file
- VITAS HEALTHCARE CORPORATION OF FLORIDANPI 1669548053 · certification 101545 · 4450 W EAU GALLIE BLVD, MELBOURNE, FL
Where every detail came from
Each value below is traced to the published file it was read from, the day we downloaded it, and the weekly version it belongs to. Open the link to check the original record yourself.
| Detail | Value | Published file | Record as of | Pulled | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal name | VITAS HEALTHCARE CORPORATION OF FLORIDA | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| NPI | 1669548053 | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| Medicare certification number | 101545 | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| CMS associate ID | 6406863513 | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| Provider type | PART A PROVIDER - HOSPICE | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| Organisation type | CORPORATION | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| Street address | 4450 W EAU GALLIE BLVD, STE 250 | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| City | MELBOURNE | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| State | FL | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
| ZIP | 329347215 | CMS Hospice Enrollments | Jul 27, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026-09-18 · 641824 |
What changed
How this provider's public record has moved between weekly refreshes. See the whole week.
Nothing has changed for this provider since we started comparing weekly refreshes.
Public research history
Nobody has worked this lead yet. Notes published by investigators stay here even after a claim expires.
Readers judge whether this flag holds up. A note only reaches the top when people who usually disagree both rate it helpful.
No notes yet. If you have checked this provider, say what you found.