Home Health & Hospice Week
OIG Fraud Program Report Highlights Hospice Cases
The HHS Office of Inspector General spends plenty of time on hospice fraud as well in its latest annual report about the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program it operates jointly with the Department of Justice (see story, p. 109). The report reiterates high-profile fraud cases for Passages Hospice in Illinois related to GIP overbilling and kickbacks (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XXVI, No. 10); Hospice Plus, Goodwin Hospice, and Phoenix Hospice in Texas paying kickbacks for referrals (Vol. XXVI, No. 18); physician Nathaniel Brown taking kickbacks for bogus referrals to Milestone Hospice and Sandanna Hospice in Mississippi (Vol. XXVI, No. 31); Home Care Hospice Inc. in Pittsburgh and its owner Matthew Kolodesh and codefendants billing for services that were unnecessary or not provided and overbilling for GIP (see Vol. XXVI, No. 25); long-term care company Genesis Healthcare Inc.'s $53.6 million payment to settle hospice and therapy overbilling charges (see Vol. XXVI, No. 23); and Ohio-based Foundations Health Solutions Inc., Olympia Therapy Inc., and Tridia Hospice Care Inc., and two of their executives' $19.5 million payment to settle allegations of false claims for medically unnecessary rehab therapy and hospice services (see Vol. XXVI, No. 26). The report also notes that the OIG's Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) "has continued to pursue claims against hospice providers for billing Medicare for patients who did not have a terminal prognosis of six months or less or who received medically unnecessary services."
Home Health & Hospice Week
- OASIS:
Watch Out For These OASIS-D Trouble Spots
New GG items should top your priority list. If you think the changes coming to [...] - Regulations:
Say Hello To These New OASIS-D Items
IMPACT Act-sparked additions are headed your way soon. Focus your attention on the OASIS changes [...] - OASIS:
Medicare To Drop These 28 Items In OASIS-D
Two items will also be deleted only at certain time points. Last year, the Centers [...] - Assessment:
Get Ready For OASIS-D To Shake Up Your World
From medical review to star ratings to surveys, expect the revised assessment tool to have [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
OIG Highlights Home Health Fraud In Latest Report
The industry is still living down the Dr. Jacques Roy case. Don't expect fraud and [...] - Industry Note:
Medicaid F2F May Continue To See Wiggle Room
CMS to use enforcement discretion. Home health agencies may get a little leeway on certain [...] - Industry Note:
Boehler Named CMMI Head
Home care providers will see a CMS executive with home-based business experience, for once. Adam [...] - Industry Note:
Appeal Option Extended
If you missed the Low Volume Appeals filing deadline, you can still take advantage of [...] - Industry Note:
MAC Helps You With New Medicare Card Ropes
Do you need a quick way to determine whether your patient's Medicare number is the [...] - Industry Note:
Follow These NOE Exception Guidelines Or Lose Pay
Be ready to back up your request for a Notice of Election timely filing exception [...] - Industry Note:
Study Shows One Way To Reduce Hospital Readmissions
Looking to reduce hospital readmissions for your patients? Consider the findings of a new study [...] - Industry Note:
OIG Fraud Program Report Highlights Hospice Cases
The HHS Office of Inspector General spends plenty of time on hospice fraud as well [...] - Industry Note:
School CMS On Reducing Regulatory Burden
Medicare is asking you to share a piece of your mind on how to reduce [...] - Industry Note:
New HART Version Out
The Hospice Abstraction Reporting Tool v1.4.0 is now available for download at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Hospice-Quality-Reporting/HIS-Technical-Information.html. The [...] - Industry Note:
Nursing Director Sentenced
The assistant director of nursing at a Detroit home health agency has received a three [...] - Industry Note:
Equity Firm Buys Chain
NexPhase Capital has acquired private duty franchisor SYNERGY HomeCare for an undisclosed sum, according to [...]
