Home Health & Hospice Week
HEAT Force Arrests 94
When the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has a big day, it has a very big day. On July 16, the Department of Justice-Health and Human Services Medicare Fraud Strike Force charged 94 people for allegedly participating in different schemes to bill more than $250 million in false claims to Medicare carriers. The defendants span across five different states (Florida, Louisiana, New York, Michigan, and Texas), and were involved in various fraudulent schemes against the Medicare program, the DOJ says in a release. For instance, practitioners in Miami were accused of fraudulently billing for physical therapy, home health care, and HIV infusion services. A Florida medical biller is charged with billing $49 million for fraudulent services. Home health agency people were arrested in Miami and Detroit and durable medical equipment people were arrested in Baton Rouge, La., Houston, and Brooklyn, according to the DOJ. Even Medicare patients were under the microscope, with one Medicare beneficiary accused of selling her Medicare number to various clinics in New York, according to the Associated Press. "Today's arrests illustrate how health care fraud schemes can replicate virally and migrate rapidly across communities," Inspector General Daniel Levinson says in the release. "To combat this fraud, the government's response must also be swift, agile, and organized -- a HEAT initiative goal which is well illustrated by today's Strike Force actions."
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
HHA Rates Slashed Nearly 5% In 2011 Proposed Rule
Cut for case mix creep shoots up, thanks in large part to therapy utilization changes. [...] - Regulations:
Face-To-Face Rule Brings New Round Of Physician Headaches
Doc must see patient 30 days before or two weeks after start of care -- and [...] - Reimbursement:
Prepare For New Therapy Requirements Under PPS Rule
PPS rule chock full of changes for HHAs. The U.S. Senate and the Securities and [...] - Hospice:
Medicare Rates To Increase 1.8% For Hospices
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HHAs, Suppliers Top Medicare Improper Payment List
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is putting another $2.25 billion toward keeping Medicare [...] - New Appeals Penalties May Keep RACs In Check
Even though Recovery Audit Contractors are Medicare bounty hunters, a new appeals policy should keep [...] - Rural Add-On Creates Pricer Complications
The two PC Pricers CMS issued for HHAs in June were necessary due to the [...] - Will Your Injection Practices Stand Up To Scrutiny?
Safe injection practices will be a focus of your survey if you're accredited by the [...] - U.K #1 In End-Of-Life Care; U.S. Ranks #9 Of 30
The United Kingdom ranked number one in a new study gauging the quality of end-oflife [...] - New Point Of Origin Codes Confuse HHAs
You're going to have to use your judgment when deciding between new point of origin [...]
