Home Health & Hospice Week
Hospice Settles For $1.2M
A for-profit hospice chain and its CEO have agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle Medicare fraud charges first raised in two whistleblower lawsuits. The settled claims contended that Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based Horizons Hospice, which later changed its name to 365 Hospice, and CEO John C. Rezk submitted claims for patients who were ineligible for hospice because they did not have a six-month prognosis, the Department of Justice says in a release. Former Horizons COO Mary Ann Stewart received a 15-month prison sentence in 2016 following her guilty plea (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XXV, No. 37). And former Horizons Medical Director Oliver Herndon received a nearly three-year prison sentence in 2015 after pleading guilty to falsely certifying patients for hospice (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XXIV, No. 27). However, Herndon is serving the sentence at the same time as an earlier 11-year term for illegally prescribing narcotics.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Reimbursement:
MedPAC Report Urges Congress To Cut Home Health Pay By 5%
Expect 14.4 percent profit margin for 2018. Home health agencies would see cuts on top [...] - Know Your Facts:
Number Of HHAs, Episodes Fell In 2016
Drop in agencies occurred in fraud-prone areas, MedPAC says. Law- and policymakers are basing their [...] - Payment:
MedPAC Continues To Push Unified Post-Acute PPS
Under PAC PPS, home health stays would see downward adjustment. While home care providers may [...] - Hospice:
Rebounding Hospice Stats Underlie Rate Freeze Rec
Number of providers climbed 4%. Although spring is here, hospices are still feeling the chill [...] - Utilization:
RN Visits Tick Up Under Payment Reform
Social worker visits remain virtually unchanged under SIA policy. The jury is still out on [...] - Lawsuits:
Patient Steering Suit Ruling May Open Door To More Legal Action
Hospital-based agencies should review their processes, attorneys advise. A patient steering lawsuit filed by a [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
Beware Bumped Up Penalties In Budget Law
The Bipartisan Budget Act did more than change Medicare reimbursement. Get to know the substantial [...] - Industry Note:
Get Your First Look At OASIS-D
CMS has released new document. The first step to preparing for your new OASIS tool [...] - Industry Note:
MAC Survey Underway
Take the opportunity to grade your HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor. "The 2018 MAC Satisfaction Indicator [...] - Industry Note:
Don't Miss Preview Reports
You can check out your latest Hospice Compare preview reports now in your CASPER folder. [...] - Industry Note:
2 New Quality Measures Out
You have a little over a month to comment on two new quality measures regarding [...] - Industry Note:
IMPACT Act Call Scheduled
Tune in to a Medicare Special Open Door Forum on the IMPACT Act and improving [...] - Industry Note:
OH Hospice Buy Planned
Columbus, Ohio-based Stonehenge Partners Inc. has acquired Queen City Hospice and Capital City Hospice, reports [...] - Industry Note:
Chain Acquires In South
Encompass Health Corp. has agreed to acquire Birmingham, Alabama-based Camellia Healthcare and affiliated entities. Camellia, [...] - Industry Note:
Hospice Settles For $1.2M
A for-profit hospice chain and its CEO have agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle [...] - Industry Note:
HHA Owner Draws 20 Years
A Miami home health agency owner has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, the [...] - Industry Note:
Therapy Fraud Unsealed
The fraud crackdown in Miami continues. Co-owners of home health agency Florida Patient Care Corp., [...]
