Advanced Search

Home Health & Hospice Week

Fraud & Abuse:

OIG GREEN LIGHTS DME LOAN CLOSET ARRANGEMENT

Published on Fri Jan 09, 2009

Watchdog agency is concerned about aggressive DME marketing, it says. If you'd like to make life easier for your patients and referral sources, the OIG may be on your side. In a recent advisory opinion, the HHS Office of Inspector General gives a thumbs up to a durable medical equipment consignment closet arrangement in a hospital, even though the arrangement involves some free perks. Two DME suppliers asked the OIG to review an arrangement where they placed equipment in hospital consignment closets so patients could obtain the equipment there before going home.When the DME is respiratory equipment, the suppliers would also have personnel on site to train the patient as required by DME quality standards, notes Opinion No. 08-20. Under the arrangement, the hospitals would provide the loan closet space to the suppliers for free, according to the opinion. The hospitals would also provide desks and phones free of charge [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Home Health & Hospice Week

View All