Home Health & Hospice Week

Six Tennessee home health agencies have agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle False Claims Act violations that they voluntarily disclosed.

Affiliated home health companies Home Health Care of East Tennessee Inc., Home Health Care of West Tennessee Inc.; Home Health Care Services Inc., Home Health Care Services II Inc., Health Care Staffing of Tennessee Inc., and Home Health Care Support Services Inc. billed Medicare for home health and hospice services that “were not properly payable due to compensation or other financial arrangements with certain referring physicians which either violated or failed to meet the requirements” of the Stark law, the Department of Justice says in a release. “The United States also contends that certain other billed services were not properly payable because they failed to meet Medicare coverage and payment requirements due to false or invalid certifications.”

In November 2010, Home Health initiated a voluntary disclosure that it had uncovered potential violations of the Stark law during the course of an ongoing internal audit, the DOJ says. “Home Health supplemented its voluntary disclosure from time to time as its internal investigation continued, reporting additional violations,” eventually resulting in the settlement.

“This is an excellent example of how a health care provider can self-report Medicare compliance concerns and avoid costly litigation,” says Nancy Stallard Harr, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, in the release. “We encourage voluntary disclosures and welcome the opportunity to work with providers to resolve issues such as this and protect the Medicare Trust Fund.”