Home Health & Hospice Week
Look At HEAT Strike Force Cities For Future Moratoria Clues
CMS won’t stop with six moratorium areas, experts predict.
Based on its implementation of home health agency moratoria in four new areas and extension in two existing areas, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services appears pleased with exercising this fraud-fighting authority. Accordingly, expect CMS to continue using the tool.
What’s next: Five of the six metro areas CMS has targeted for moratoria have a HEAT Medicare Fraud Strike Force operating in them, notes attorney Robert Markette Jr. with Hall Render in Indianapolis. The other one is adjacent to one of the Strike Force cities.
Therefore, you can expect a third wave of moratoria announcements to include the last four Strike Force cities — Baton Rouge, La., Brooklyn, N.Y., Los Angeles, and Tampa Bay, Fla., experts agree.
Plus: More areas that are adjacent to Strike Force cities are also likely moratoria targets, Markette believes. That includes northern Indiana (by Chicago) and parts of Texas. In 2012, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission pointed out that the top seven counties in the nation for home health utilization were in Texas’ southern tip, reports the Dallas News.
Add Las Vegas and Ohio to the moratoria contender list, suggests financial consultant Tom Boyd with Simione Healthcare Consultants in Rohnert Park, Calif. And Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City would be likely to make the cut, believes financial consultant Mark Sharp with BKD in Springfield, Mo.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Compliance:
HHA Moratorium Hits 4 More Metro Areas
What took so long, industry members ask about some of the cities chosen. What happens [...] - Regulations:
Look At HEAT Strike Force Cities For Future Moratoria Clues
CMS won’t stop with six moratorium areas, experts predict. Based on its implementation of home [...] - Know Your Facts:
Stats Draw Feds' Wrath Down On Moratorium Cities
One moratorium area has twice as many agencies per bene. Home health agencies’ own claims [...] - Hospice:
OIG Investigates Hospice Provision In ALF Setting
Prevent ALF-related compliance trouble — before the feds coming knocking. After going after hospice provision [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
Documentation, Background Checks On OIG's Hit List For HHAs This Year
HHAs bilk Medicare of $1 billion, OIG says. The OIG lists no new topics for [...] - Industry Note:
Deadline For Increased Hospice Claims Data Nearly Here
CMS issues a few more details about the expanded requirements. Medicare is offering some clarifications [...] - Industry Note:
Hop To HETS If You Haven't Already
Don’t forget: "Provider access to … eligibility systems will be terminated, effective April 7, 2014," [...] - Industry Note:
Measurable Variables Key To Hospice Documentation
You can avoid medical necessity denials under Comprehensive Error Rate Testing by including comprehensive documentation [...] - Industry Note:
Hospitals Emulate Hospices
Hospitals will be taking a page from hospices’ book, if they heed a new study [...] - Industry Note:
Know Which Patients To Visit First In An Emergency
Home care providers are performing the often unsung work of furnishing care in patients’ homes [...] - Industry Note:
Hospice Co-Owner Charged With GIP Medicare Fraud
How you treat your employees could determine whether the authorities show up at your door. [...] - Industry Note:
Texas HHA Owner, DON Face Fraud Charges
A Texas couple is facing charges of Medicare fraud. Stella Maduka, director of nursing, and [...] - Industry Note:
Chain Makes Big Buy
For-profit chain LHC Group Inc. will purchase Deaconess HomeCare and Elk Valley Health Services for [...] - Industry Note:
Hospital To Shed HHA
Another hospital is making plans to shed its home care business. Pauls Valley General Hospital [...] - Industry Note:
Gentiva Opens Hospice Inpatient Unit In Hospital
Gentiva Health Services Inc. has opened a hospice inpatient unit in Athens Regional Medi-cal Center [...]
