Home Health & Hospice Week
Physician Gets Jail Time For Home Care Fraud
The physician involved in a Miami-area home care fraud ring has been sentenced to two years in prison and two years home confinement. Plus he must pay CMS $22 million in restitution, together with his co-defendants. Dr. Fred Dweck signed orders, plans of care, and certifications for hundreds of patients who did not actually qualify for home care, according to a Department of Justice release. The owners of the physician clinic that employed Dweck, Courtesy Medical Group, solicited bribes and kickbacks from Miami-area HHAs and patient recruiters in exchange for the prescriptions and documentation Dweck signed, the DOJ says. The ring involved HHAs ABC Home Health Care and Florida Home Health Care Providers. Dweck might have received an even stiffer sentence, but he's 75 years old and in ill health, notes the Miami Herald. The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, the DOJ notes. "Since their inception in March 2007, Strike Force operations in nine locations have obtained indictments of more than 1,000 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2.3 billion."
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Regulations:
HHA Industry On Brink Of F2F Crisis With No Delay
One agency tells CMS 98% of F2F paperwork isn't adequate. Physicians' inability or unwillingness to [...] - Hospice:
No Hospice F2F? You Must Discharge From Medicare
CMS sheds light on face-to-face gray areas in new questions and answers. If you miss [...] - Medical Review:
Watch Out For Hot Button Medical Review Topics
Are you waving these red flags in front of reviewers' faces? To stay off medical [...] - Survey & Certification:
Make Criminal Background Checks A Priority Before Surveyors Do
CMS's background check program for HHAs, hospices is running in 10 states so far. How [...] - Compliance:
Take These 3 Steps To Head Off Background Check Problems
Are you checking the FBI database? How can your home care organization head off survey, [...] - Industry Notes:
A Single Finding Will Move You To Partial Extended Survey
CMS revises survey protocols. New survey rules for home health agencies will go into effect [...] - Industry Notes:
Palmetto GBA Parent Buys CIGNA Government Services
Home health agencies and hospices transferring from Cahaba GBA to CIGNA Government Services this summer [...] - Industry Notes:
Title Supervisory Visits In The Schedule
Is keeping in compliance with rules for aide supervisory visits proving difficult? These tips from [...] - Industry Notes:
Copay Returns To The Budget Table
President Obama's proposed budget for 2012 may not include a home health copayment, but that [...] - Industry Notes:
Bypass New Enrollment Fee If You Know The Ropes
If you're wondering how to pay your Medicare enrollment or revalidation fee under new application [...] - Industry Notes:
Watch Out For Claims Edits On Site Of Service
Medicare has implemented edits that will return your hospice claims submitted with an inappropriate site [...] - Industry Notes:
Claims Glitch Clears Up
Claims submitted to Palmetto GBA that were stuck in status location SB9099 should be processing [...] - Industry Notes:
Chain Makes Ohio Buy
Louisville, Ky.-based Almost Family Inc. is buying the assets of the Medicare-certified home health agency [...] - Industry Notes:
Physician Gets Jail Time For Home Care Fraud
The physician involved in a Miami-area home care fraud ring has been sentenced to two [...] - Industry Notes:
Note This ICD-10 Change
When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you'll need to know how to categorize your care [...]
