Home Health & Hospice Week
HHAs, Suppliers Top Medicare Improper Payment List
Agencies fail to document claims, CERT finds. Home care providers have an even larger target on their budget backs, thanks to an examination of Medicare's 2009 CERT report. In the comprehensive error rate testing report for last year, both home health agencies and durable medical equipment suppliers ranked in the top five types of providers that received improper Medicare payments, according to a new HHS Office of Inspector General report. DME suppliers were second on the list, behind only inpatient hospitals, accounting for 25 percent of identified improper payments in the report, the OIG notes. The payments totaled $1.2 million. HHAs were fifth on the list, behind physicians and skilled nursing facilities. But they accounted for only 4 percent of improper payments in the report for a total of $185,000. Still, that sum is likely to be enough to get HHAs in law- and policy-makers' crosshairs when it comes to trimming the budget, industry experts fear. The biggest reason for HHA denials at 40 percent was insufficient or missing documentation such as physicians' orders, clinical notes, and patient assessments, according to the report. The other two main reasons were miscoded claims (32 percent) and medically unnecessary services (26 percent). The OIG report is online at www.oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region1/11001000.pdf.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
HHA Rates Slashed Nearly 5% In 2011 Proposed Rule
Cut for case mix creep shoots up, thanks in large part to therapy utilization changes. [...] - Regulations:
Face-To-Face Rule Brings New Round Of Physician Headaches
Doc must see patient 30 days before or two weeks after start of care -- and [...] - Reimbursement:
Prepare For New Therapy Requirements Under PPS Rule
PPS rule chock full of changes for HHAs. The U.S. Senate and the Securities and [...] - Hospice:
Medicare Rates To Increase 1.8% For Hospices
Hospices face their own face-to-face encounter requirement under HH PPS rule. Starting Oct. 1, your [...] - Industry Notes:
HHAs, Suppliers Top Medicare Improper Payment List
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Safe injection practices will be a focus of your survey if you're accredited by the [...] - U.K #1 In End-Of-Life Care; U.S. Ranks #9 Of 30
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You're going to have to use your judgment when deciding between new point of origin [...]
