Be careful to check your employees against the OIG’s exclusion list, or you could pay the ultimate price.
Case in point: Ambulatory Health Care Services, LTD., a Skokie, Ill., home health agency, has been excluded from participation in all federal health programs for three years as a result of its employment of an excluded nurse, the OIG says on its website. The OIG’s investigation revealed that Ambulatory billed for services provided by the excluded nurse to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
The exclusion became effective March 19, and Ambulatory is no longer in operation, the OIG says. Links to the OIG’s online searchable database and other exclusions resources are at http://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/index.asp