Home Health & Hospice Week

Senator Wants Medicare Contractors To Get Tough

Obtaining the Medicare payments that are rightfully yours may get even tougher if one influential lawmaker gets his way. In an Oct. 6 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (RIowa) asks CMS to hold its Medicare contractors more accountable for overpayments due to fraud and abuse. Grassley cites billing from DME fraudsters as an example of the losses for which Medicare contractors should be held accountable. He also highlights the OIG's latest series of reports on DME claims using KX modifiers, in which the OIG detected overpayments. Grassley is concerned about "the lack of or inadequate management and oversight of contractors by" CMS, he says in the letter.
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in Revenue Cycle Insider
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more

Other Articles in this issue of

Home Health & Hospice Week

View All