Home Health & Hospice Week
Hospice Owner Admits To Physician Kickbacks
Hospice medical director relationships are once again in the fraud and abuse spotlight. Lemont, Ill.-based Home Bound Healthcare Inc. and its owner, Romy Macasaet Jr., have agreed to pay nearly $7 million to settle charges of paying kickbacks to referring physicians, disguised as medical director compensation, the Department of Justice says in a release. “Macasaet acknowledged ... that he retained and paid Medical Directors a monthly fee solely for the purpose of obtaining patient referrals,” according to the release. From 2006 to 2014, Macasaet paid $789,327 in bribes to about 20 medical directors, the feds say.
In addition to the fine, Macasaet agreed to resign his employment with Home Bound and to divest his ownership interest in the company, the DOJ says. Home Bound also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the HHS Office of Inspector General. Macasaet faces sentencing Feb. 15.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
VBP Neglects Major Home Care Focus, Agencies Tell CMS
Improvement emphasis is disservice. Lack of stabilization measure inclusion in Medicare’s Home Health Value-Based Purchasing [...] - Quality:
VBP Risk Adjustment Doesn't Compensate Enough
Add socio-demographic adjusters, commenters urged CMS. If Medicare doesn’t want a whole section of the [...] - Value-Based Purchasing:
Change In VBP Comparison Groups Meets Mostly With Favor
Small providers somewhat nervous about cohort revamp proposal. Home health agencies in the nine Value-Based [...] - Appeals:
VBP Appeals Expansion Appeals To HHAs, But Longer Timeframe Needed
Questions remain about appeals decisions’ impact on other agencies. Medicare plans to give home health [...] - Benchmarks:
Set VBP Benchmarks Ahead Of Time, MedPAC And Other Commenters Urge
Retroactive benchmarks curb quality improvement, critics say. Home health agencies in the nine Value-Based Purchasing [...] - Value-Based Purchasing:
Reduce VBP Risk Pool To Be In Line With Other Provider Types
Public reporting, population base blasted. Commenters on the 2017 Home Health Prospective Payment System rule [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
Hospice Execs Sentenced In Fraud Cases
Benchmark: National live discharge rate is 18%. Hospices with sky-high live discharge rates drive their [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
States Crack Down On Home Care Providers
One states sees 80% spending spike over 2 years. As Medicaid spending on home care [...] - Industry Note:
More PCR Education On Deck
Palmetto offers additional in-person training. Don’t expect that Pre-Claim Review “pause” button to stay pressed [...] - Industry Note:
Learn New Hospice Vaccine Billing Ins And Outs
Hospices can get their newly updated vaccine billing instructions in a recently reissued transmittal. Reminder: [...] - Industry Note:
Tampa HHA Owner Convicted Of Medicare Fraud
The owner of Gold Care Home Health Services Inc. in Tampa, Fla., has been convicted [...] - Industry Note:
Hospice Owner Admits To Physician Kickbacks
Hospice medical director relationships are once again in the fraud and abuse spotlight. Lemont, Ill.-based [...]
