Home Health & Hospice Week

Whistleblower suit shows why your non-routine hospice claims must be squeaky clean. Are your records ready to withstand the increased scrutiny of one of the newest hospice hot spots -- general inpatient care? At the heart of a recently unsealed whistleblower lawsuit lie allegations that an Arkansas hospice's GIP claims were unnecessary and the care level not provided (see story, p. 178). That's just one example of the critical eye this area is now under, industry experts say. Why: Medicare currently pays $622.66 per day for GIP care compared to $140.14 for routine home care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says in a Sept. 10, 2008 memo. That big pay increase leads intermediaries and other authorities to want to make sure the difference is legitimate. The interest is compounded by the fact that GIP utilization has increased in recent years, notes Samira Beckwith with Hope Hospice and Community Services [...]