Home Health & Hospice Week

Checking patients' photo IDs is a good idea, experts say. You may think the government is implementing the Red Flags Rule in the distant future -- but the Federal Trade Commission will begin enforcing it on May 1. Under the Red Flags Rule, you will be required to spot the "red flags" that can signal identity theft (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, p. 3)."Health care providers are creditors if they bill consumers after their services are completed," the National Association for Home Care & Hospice reminds its members. "Health care providers that accept insurance are considered creditors if the consumer ultimately is responsible for the medical fees." In preparing their Red Flags programs, some providers plan to check patients' identification cards to ensure that patients are using their own Medicare or insurance cards. In a Feb. 4 letter to the American Medical Association, the FTC noted that requesting [...]