Home Health & Hospice Week
Two California HHA Owners Found Guilty Of Fraud
A federal jury has found one home health agency owner in California guilty of Medicare fraud, while his co-owner pled guilty to fraud charges. Evans Onihal, who was found guilty, and Camillus Ehigie, who pled guilty, owned Prosperity Home Health Services Inc. and a durable medical equipment company, Caravan Medical Supplies Inc. The men paid "marketers" for access to Medicare beneficiary information and fraudulent prescriptions and other documents for home health services and DME, according to the indictment. The services and items they billed "were not medically necessary, and that often were not provided to Medicare beneficiaries," says a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Oniha and Ehigie caused Caravan to submit about $8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for home health services and $5.8 million in fraudulent claims for DME purportedly provided by Caravan, prosecutors say. Ehigie also owned another DME company, Osbed Medical Supply, which submitted $6.1 million in fraudulent claims, the DOJ says in the release. Facing the music: Oniha is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 19 and Ehigie is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30, 2012. The investigation occurred as part of the Medicare Strike Force under the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT). CMS and the OIG are taking steps to "increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers," the DOJ says.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
2012 Cuts To Hit Therapy-Heavy HHAs The Hardest
Proposed cuts are even bigger than CMS says, industry sources maintain. How next year's proposed [...] - Diagnosis Coding:
Diagnosis Codes Slated For Elimination No Longer Predict Costs, CMS Says
Use of 401.9 more than doubled in last five years. The Centers for Medicare & [...] - Therapy:
20-Visit Threshold Sees Biggest Payment Decrease Under Case Mix Changes
The feds are aiming changes at scammers who pad their therapy visits. The only question [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
Outliers On Track For Decrease
Don't overlook the PPS rule's smaller provisions. The reimbursement cuts due to case mix creep [...] - Industry Note:
Tap Educational Resources From New HHH MAC
Get advice on billing issues ranging from logging onto DDE to avoiding duplicate file rejections. [...] - Industry Note:
Majority Of Power Wheelchair Claims Don't Meet Medic-are Requirements
Wheelchair suppliers may face even more red tape in furnishing items to Medicare beneficiaries, thanks [...] - Industry Note:
Don't Date Stamp Hospice Terminal Illness Certs Unless You Want Denials
Put away those date stamps for your hospice patients' terminal illness certification, or risk technical [...] - Industry Note:
Examine This Case Study For Cost-Cutting Tips
If you're looking to cut your spending in these trying financial times, you may want [...] - Industry Note:
Two California HHA Owners Found Guilty Of Fraud
A federal jury has found one home health agency owner in California guilty of Medicare [...] - Industry Note:
Regional Chain Buys Florida Home Health Agency
Regional chain CareSouth Health System Inc. is purchasing its third home health agency in Florida. [...] - Industry Note:
Multiple Regions See Hospice Inpatient Units Opening Their Doors
Hospice inpatient units continue to proliferate. Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care in Colorado Springs, [...]
