Home Health & Hospice Week
Couple Uses Home Health Medicaid Fraud Proceeds For Jet, Jewelry And More
Two Medicaid fraud cases focus on home health services. Case #1: Married couple Latisha Harron and Timothy Mark Harron of Las Vegas, Nevada billed the government for $10 million in fictitious home health services through Medicaid home health agency Agape Healthcare Systems Inc. in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, the Department of Justice says in a release. They then laundered the proceeds of the fraud into, among other things, a private jet, Tiffany jewelry, luxury clothing, properties in North Carolina, an Aston Martin sports car, and a wine collection. The Harrons searched public sources such as obituaries to glean North Carolina Medicaid data for the deceased persons. If the patients had been eligible, they would “back-bill” for up a year of services for the individuals before their deaths, the DOJ says.“This case represents one of the most brazen and egregious cases of home health Medicaid fraud ever seen in this district,” North Carolina U.S.Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. says in the release.“Even in the face of a global pandemic, this office will continue its work to ensure that defendants like these will be held to fully account for their actions.” Case #2: Brigham Home Care Services in Avon, Massachusetts and its owners, Catherine and Martin Kamandu, will pay $450,000 to resolve allegations they submitted false claims to MassHealth. Brigham billed for patients while the patients were attending Adult Day Health Center programs, for services not approved by a physician, for services provided by nurses while those nurses were travelling outside the state, for services recorded as being provided by the same nurse at the same time to two different patients in separate households, and for services without the proper billing modifier codes, Attorney General Maura Healey says in a release. “Addressing fraud in the home health care industry remains a critical priority for the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division,” Healy’s office says. In 2019, the division recovered more than $12 million from home health agencies and secured a false claims conviction of an HHA owner (see Eli’s HCW, Vol. XXVIII, No. 20).
Home Health & Hospice Week
- COVID-19:
New PPP Law Provides More Flexibility
Bonus and hazard pay count toward 60% payroll target, interim final rule clarifies. Another week [...] - Legislation:
PPP Borrowers Narrowly Avoid Forgiveness Cliff
Legality of the change is still fuzzy, but providers will take it. The feds might [...] - Medicaid:
Medicaid Providers To Finally See Some CARES Act Help
Can you abide by the two conditions? Medicaid home care providers left out of Provider [...] - Review Choice Demonstration:
Yep: RCD 'Pause' Will End With 100% Postpay Review
But review schedule will consider burden, CMS says. Home health agencies hoping for a reprieve [...] - Compliance:
OIG, HH Chain Duke It Out Over Audited Claims
Ten denied claims lead to $2.1M overpayment. The latest improper payment rate for fee-for-service Medicare [...] - Industry Note:
Consider These New Survey Priorities
Routine surveys are back on deck. Back in March, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced that [...] - Industry Note:
HOPE Tool Alpha Testing Still On Schedule For Fall
COVID-19 isn’t derailing the development of Medicare’s Hospice Outcomes & Patient Evaluation assessment tool. The Centers [...] - Industry Note:
Couple Uses Home Health Medicaid Fraud Proceeds For Jet, Jewelry And More
Two Medicaid fraud cases focus on home health services. Case #1: Married couple Latisha Harron [...] - Industry Note:
Hospice Video Could Increase Benefit Access, Study Says
There may be a way to educate potential hospice patients about the benefit, even though [...] - Industry Note:
If OCR Investigator Calls, Don't Take Their Word For It
Watch out for yet another scam to swipe your patients’ private info. An individual posing [...]
