Home Health & Hospice Week

The wrong med coverage could sock it to your bottom line. While some hospice decisions are simple, figuring out which medications you should cover isn't -- and that's an issue that's fast on the road to becoming a compliance hot spot. "It's just a matter of time" before Medicare contractors target the issue, predicts attorney Mary Michal, with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren in Madison, Wis. That's because hospices that don't pick up the tab for medications could push the expense onto Part D, which would cost the government a lot of money, she cautions. Never fear: Following these key principles can help you navigate the gray areas for covering medications: 1. Take a close look at the medication's relationship to the patient's diagnoses. "Medicare requires that hospices pay for medication related to the terminal diagnosis and its related conditions," says Joy Barry, principal of Weatherbee Resources Inc. in Hyannis, Mass. Thus, [...]