Home Health & Hospice Week
TAX CASE TRIUMPH VINDICATES AGENCY
Not-for-profit providers should take note of this recent home health agency victory against the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Background: The recent decision concludes a tax dispute that came about when Sta-Home Health Agency converted from tax-exempt status to for-profit status in 1995. The IRS and the agency owners, the Caracci family, disagreed over whether the family had received any gain in the conversion. In 1999, the IRS issued $250 million in deficiency notices to the family.
In July 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a ruling of the U.S. Tax Court, removing a $69.7 million tax bill on Sta-Home and its executives (Decision No. 02-60192) (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XV, No. 26).
Update: This month the news got even better: Sta-Home has received reimbursement of attorney fees and costs from the IRS in the amount of nearly $1.1 million, attorney Tom Kirkland of Ridgeland, MS-based Copeland Cook Taylor & Bush tells Eli.
"The award of attorney fees is a complete vindication of Sta-Home's conversion to for-profit status," says Vincent Caracci, Sta-Home president, in a prepared statement.
The amount and circumstances of the award are unprecedented, notes Copeland attorney Ted Sanderson, formerly a senior attorney in the IRS National Office.
Sta-Home provides home health services to thousands of patients in 46 counties throughout central and southwest Mississippi and the Mississippi Delta.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
USE THIS CONTINGENCY PLAN IF YOU'RE IN PPS BILLING LIMBO
HAVEN will be out Dec. 21, CMS pledges.
Home health agencies that will ring in the [...] - Prospective Payment System:
PPS MAY UNDERPAY YOU FOR SOME EPISODES, CMS WARNS
Add these 2 newly revealed problems to your billing to-do list.
You'll have to do some [...] - Legislation:
HOME CARE PROVIDERS DECLARE BUDGET VICTORY--FOR NOW
Quick doc fix will mean it's back to the drawing board early next year.
Home health [...] - Compliance:
EDUCATE NEW PATIENTS--BUT HEED THESE GUIDELINES
One vital tip from the OIG: Don't personalize offerings.
Don't miss this new federal guidance--or you [...] - Competitive Bidding:
NEW COURT CASE CHALLENGES BIDDING RULE
Focus is protection for small players.
If you're worried that competitive bidding will cause your small [...] - Therapy:
STAY OUT OF FEDS' CROSSHAIRS WITH THERAPY TRANSITION
Watch out for artificial gaps in therapy visit distribution.
You'd better identify and fix any appearance [...] - Medical Review:
INTERMEDIARY PROBES FOCUS ON DIAGNOSIS, OASIS CODING
Medical reviewers are getting serious about coding validity as PPS changes take effect.
If you think [...] - Education:
ADDRESS CODING AND BILLING HOT TOPICS WITH THESE EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
Plus, get 15 percent off your next audioconference. Five Eli-sponsored audioconferences present timely topics for [...] - Lawsuit:
TAX CASE TRIUMPH VINDICATES AGENCY
Government must pay HHAs' attorneys' fees, costs in unprecedented award.
Not-for-profit providers should take note of [...] - Industry Notes:
OIG SPOTLIGHTS DIAGNOSIS UPCODING FRAUD
Home care execs are on the hook for alleged fraud.
Home care providers can expect continued [...]
