Home Health & Hospice Week
Senior Medicare Patrol Steps Up Activity
The Senior Medicare Patrol Project is stepping up its activity. In 2011, the 54 Senior Medicare Patrol Projects had 5,671 active volunteers, a 14 percent increase from 2010, the HHS Office of Inspector General says in a new report. Volunteers conducted 66,303 one-on-one counseling sessions and 11,109 group education sessions. In 2011, 431,128 beneficiaries attended group education sessions, an increase from 298,097 in 2010. Medicare funds recovered due to the projects were $19,283 in 2011. But don't let that number fool you, the OIG says. The projects saved another $248,000 in "cost avoidance." And the projects referred some "large-dollar cases," the OIG notes. Medicare is seeking to recover $2.9 million in one of them. The study is online at http://go.usa.gov/vda.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Coverage:
Reviewers Take Aim At Medical Necessity
CERT reviews turn up problems proving skilled need for home health patients.More reviewers than ever [...] - Medical Review:
Wage War On Medical Necessity Denials With These 5 Steps
Know the rules when it comes to coverage, or lose your hard-earned reimbursement.Follow this expert [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
Hospice Settles Fraud Charges For $6 Million
Whistleblower lawsuit leads to $1.3 million reward for relator.Do you base any of your clinical [...] - Compliance:
Beware Of Board of Director Insider Deals
Non-profit hospice gets raked over the coals in the press for doing business with board [...] - Industry Note:
OIG Wants CMS To Strengthen Medicaid Home Care Oversight
GAO notes states' increase in home care options.The Affordable Care Act appears to be do-ing [...] - Industry Note:
Tap This Tool To Clear Up Your Billing Problems
Trying to troubleshoot your claims err-ors? One HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor is offering a helping [...] - Industry Note:
HHH MAC Debuts New Resource To Help You Figure Out CERT Denials
Denials from the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) project can confuse pro-viders, but don't forget [...] - Industry Note:
Watchdog Agency Wants Your Feedback On Self-Disclosure Changes
Do you have thoughts on how to improve the OIG's self-disclosure protocol? The watchdog agency [...] - Industry Note:
Minority Patients With Heart Failure Lag In Hospice Use, Study Says
Hospice advocates have long lamented that minority populations use hospice less than white ones. A [...] - Industry Note:
Senior Medicare Patrol Steps Up Activity
The Senior Medicare Patrol Project is stepping up its activity. In 2011, the 54 Senior [...] - Industry Note:
HHA Owner Draws 9-Year Prison Sentence
A Miami-area home health agency owner and employee have received stiff prison sentences after pleading [...] - Industry Note:
CDC Offers New Tools For Flu Prevention Education Aimed At Seniors
Add these new resources to your flu-prevention toolkit. The National Council on Aging has undertaken [...] - Reader Question:
Do You Really Want To Go Nuclear With Competitors' Kickbacks?
Weigh your options carefully when responding.Question: In this day and age of acute sensitivity to [...]
