Home Health & Hospice Week
The HHS Office of Inspector General took the opportunity
The HHS Office of Inspector General took the opportunity to once again trumpet its largest-ever fraud settlement from a hospice provider. In its new semiannual report to Congress, the OIG notes VITAS Hospice Services agreed to pay $75.5 million to resolve charges that it billed for ineligible patients and for Continuous Home Care services that weren’t provided, and entered into a five-year CIA. The OIG announced the settlement of charges from three different whistleblower lawsuits last fall (see Eli’s HCW, Vol. XXVI, No. 39). The OIG also noted a guilty plea in another high-profile hospice case. Gwen Hilsabeck, administrator for Lisle, Illinois-based Passages Hospice, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison and $9 million in restitution after pleading guilty to altering patient files to make visits that were at the routine level appear to have been General Inpatient services. The report is at https://oig.hhs.gov/reportsand-publications/archives/semiannual/2018/sarspring-2018.pdf.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Review Choice Demonstration:
This State To Go First In Revived Pre-Claim Review Demo
GAO wants Pre-Claim Review to resume. Medicare is revealing more details about its resurrected Pre-Claim [...] - Medical Review:
Industry Mobilizes For Pre-Claim Review Opposition
Learn from original PCR run, trade group tells Medicare officials. Unlike with the original Pre-Claim [...] - Know Your Facts:
Live Discharge Rate Dropped Again In 2017
LOS ticks upward. You have only a matter of days left to give Medicare your [...] - Hospice:
Prior Auth For Common Drugs May Be On Hospice Horizon
You should be paying for insulin, beta blockers, and more, CMS instructs. Data revealed in [...] - Utilization:
Hospice Payment Reform Fails To Move The Needle On Skilled Visits At End Of Life
Only slight improvement shown by claims data. Medicare’s hoped-for solution for boosting care levels in [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
OIG Shines Spotlight On Home Care Fraud
Watchdog agency profiles Texas, Florida cases. The feds continue to paint home care with a [...] - Industry Note:
Say Goodbye To Drug Education Measure, Hello To Oral Meds Improvement Measure
Learn the details of star rating changes in upcoming call. Now that the flu measure [...] - Industry Note:
High-Profile Hospice Cases Showcased In OIG Report To Congress
Don’t let a first-level appeal time out due to missing technicalities. If certain information in [...] - Industry Note:
The HHS Office of Inspector General took the opportunity
The HHS Office of Inspector General took the opportunity to once again trumpet its largest-ever [...] - Industry Note:
What's Ahead Under IMPACT Act? Find Out Here
Get the latest info on the IMPACT Act in a Frequently Asked Questions call. Register [...] - Reader Question:
Medicare Mails Out Next Batch Of MBI Cards To Benes
If you operate in a “Wave 2” state, your patients should start receiving their new [...] - Industry Note:
You Have Until The End Of The Month To Review Your Latest Compare Data Reports
Don’t miss your chance to review your Hospice Compare data for the next refresh. “Hospice [...]
