Home Health & Hospice Week

Medicare wastes $50 million on high-utilization test strips, OIG says. If you supply blood glucose test strips to patients who use more than the standard amount, getting Medicare to pay your claims might get a lot harder. That's because the HHS Office of Inspector General has found that a large percentage of such claims don't meet Medicare billing criteria, according to a new report. Background: Medicare allows up to 100 test strips and 100 lancets every month for insulintreated diabetics and every three months for noninsulin- treated diabetics, as long as there is a physician order and proof of delivery, the OIG report  notes. To cover more than that standard amount, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires documentation supporting the  pecific reason for and frequency of testing. And the physician must have seen the patient within the last six months to evaluate her "diabetic control," the report says. [...]