Home Health & Hospice Week

Watch out: There are still more Provider Relief Fund Reporting Periods to go.

Many home health and hospice providers received COVID relief money or took advantage of some of the public health emergency waivers or flexibilities during the pandemic — and that means your compliance practices may or may not come under scrutiny, especially as federal enforcers continue to vigilantly pursue COVID fraud and abuse.

Add these three key points to your post-PHE watchlist:

1. Testing claims. The HHS Office for Inspector General continues to audit COVID-19 testing claims and protocols and currently has 12 active items on its Work Plan. In addition, the Department of Justice continues to bring charges against providers who file false claims, with the latest indictment on March 14.

2. Telehealth. Despite the flexibilities under the PHE and the expansion of coverage, telehealth during the pandemic remains a sticking point with the feds. OIG lists five separate active items for telehealth services that it’s looking at, including claims for home health agencies, Part B providers, and in Medicaid.

3. COVID funds. The OIG is still scrutinizing CARES Act Provider Relief Fund (PRF) distributions — there are six Work Plan active items on the topic. Meanwhile, reporting of both PRF distributions and ARP rural payments continues via the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) with Reporting Period (RP) 1-3 over, RP 4 recently wrapped up on March 31, and RP 5, 6, and 7 rolling out over the next year. 

Note: See the OIG Work Plan at https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/workplan/index.asp. See HRSA’s PRF information at www.hrsa.gov/provider-relief.