Home Health & Hospice Week

Follow this advice to keep the payment you deserve. You now have more time to appeal a Medicare recoupment -- but you'd better use your time wisely. Recoupment allows contractors to recover a Medicare debt by applying Medicare payments to an outstanding bill, including overpayments resulting from Recovery Audit Contractor audits. Previously the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could recoup overpayments within 30 days of finding a debt -- whether or not you contested that you were ever overpaid. New way: Beginning Nov. 16, CMS must wait until the Qualified Independent Contractor (QIC) issues a Reconsideration Decision at the end of the second appeal, according to a final rule published in the Sept. 16 Federal Register. The rule comes after CMS took into consideration suggestions from the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) that it give agencies 60 days to request a reconsideration before recouping overpayments. Once the request [...]