Home Health & Hospice Week

What looked like a law cracking down on financial fraud could pack a punch for you. Home care providers shouldn't overlook a new law that makes identifying overpayments from the government a priority. President Obama recently signed the Federal Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA) of 2009 to focus on mortgage and banking fraud. But what you may not have known is that also tucked into the legislation is language that could greatly affect your home care organization. Section 4 of the bill, titled "Clarifications to the False Claims Act (FCA) to Reflect the Original Intent of the Law," makes several changes that apply to health care providers. First, the law defines "obligation" to include the phrase "arising from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment," regardless of whether you originally submitted a "false claim." This suggests that you could be obligated under the False Claims Act if [...]