Home Health & Hospice Week

If you don’t want to fork over a six-figure penalty, make sure you check your staff ’s credentials closely.

Case in point: Visiting Nurse Health System Inc. in Georgia agreed to pay nearly $105,000 “for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law” by submitting claims to Medicare and Georgia Medicaid for services provided by an unlicensed registered nurse, the HHS Office of Inspector says on its enforcement actions webpage.

“Single damages were calculated as the full salary and benefits paid to the nurse during the period she worked without a valid license,” the OIG explains. VNHS self-disclosed the conduct.