Medical Review:
RAC Targets Home Care Topics For Review
Published on Tue Jan 26, 2010
HHAs, hospices, and DME suppliers all affected by new audit focus areas. Home health agencies and hospices may not technically be under Recovery Audit Contractor reviews just yet, but current issues that at least one RAC is investigating are already affecting them. Health Data Insights, the RAC contractor for Region D, posted 66 new approved issues for review in January. Most of them apply to hospitals, but HDI is also approved to review durable medical equipment topics. And two of the new DME issues will affect HHAs and hospices, too. Issue #1: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved "DME while in Hospice" as an issue on Dec. 22, 2009. The RAC will look for DME claims improperly paid for beneficiaries in a hospice stay. This could cause suppliers to come knocking on hospice doors for payment for claims dating as far back as Oct. 1, 2007. Issue #2: [...]