Home Health & Hospice Week

Industry Note:

OIG Frowns On Supplier-IDTF Relationship

Be careful if you are a CPAP supplier with ties to Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities. In a new advisory opinion, the HHS Office of Inspector General warns that a submitted supplier- IDTF relationship is full of potential for kickback violations. Under the arrangement, the CPAP supplier pays the IDTF for a package of services which may include setting up the CPAP and educating the non-Medicare or Medicaid patient about it and maintaining the CPAP equipment under consignment. The IDTFs may be owned by physician prescribing the CPAPs. Excluding beneficiaries insured by federal health care programs doesn't fix the kickback problems, the OIG notes. "IDTFs participating in the Existing Arrangement may still influence referrals of Federal health care program beneficiaries to the Requestor for DME," the opinion points out. The arrangement doesn't qualify for a safe harbor. And the IDTF staff and owner physicians can influence the patient's choice of supplier. [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in Revenue Cycle Insider
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more

Other Articles in this issue of

Home Health & Hospice Week

View All