Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
SENATORS RALLY FOR NEW IG
Health care fraud enforcement top spot needs a body. Two top dogs in the Senate Finance Committee are calling on the Bush administration to fill the long-vacant top post at the HHS Office of Inspector General. The position has remained vacant since IG Janet Rehnquist stepped down in June amidst allegations of poor management. Rehnquist had announced her decision to leave the post in March. That's too long a vacancy for Finance Committee Chair Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT). "Without a permanent IG, imbued with the authority and stature that derives from Senate confirmation, the office will be unable to set a new and permanent course for its future activities and operations," the senators write in an Oct. 29 letter to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card. The pair urge Card to appoint an IG as soon as possible. Lesson Learned: The person who gets confirmed as IG will chart the course for Medicare fraud enforcement, so health care providers should monitor these developments carefully.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Home Health:
Home Health Outcomes Debut On Web, In Newspapers
HHAs grappling with new publicity.
Chances are more people than ever are thinking about home care, thanks [...] - Hospitals:
HOSPITALS SLATED FOR 4.5 PERCENT PAY BOOST
Pass through payments escape across-the-board cuts. Hospitals will collect 4.5 percent more on average from [...] - Physicians:
PHYSICIANS GET A BREAK ON APPEALS DOCUMENTATION
Long-delayed coverage appeal rule at last in final form. Burdensome physician certification rules that could [...] - Medicare Reform:
MANY ISSUES STILL UNRESOLVED WITH TIME RUNNING OUT
Final bill looking increasingly unlikely. Congressional Medicare negotiators are not giving up, but the odds [...] - Rehab:
OIG TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT REHAB
Medical necessity and cardiac rehab top the OIG's list of hot spots. The 2004 Work [...] - Labs:
WHAT LAB SURVEYORS ARE LOOKING FOR, PART 2
CLIA inspectors offer insider tips for a smoother recovery. This is the continuation of a [...] - Home Health:
OASIS COLLECTION SUSPENDED FOR PRIVATE-PAY PATIENTS
Burdensome home health requirement lifted - at least for now.
In a surprise move, Medicare officials [...] - Medicare+Choice:
MEDICARE LOOKING TO PPOs, PPOs LOOKING FOR FUNDING
Early-adopting Medicare PPOs site some success, but many questions. If preferred provider organizations are indeed the [...] - HIPAA:
LAWYERS SEEK CLARITY ON HIPAA PRIVACY RULE
How far do your attorney's obligations go?
Will the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy [...] - Compliance:
SENATORS RALLY FOR NEW IG
Health care fraud enforcement top spot needs a body. Two top dogs in the Senate [...] - CMS MANUAL UPDATE
Physicians billing for lung volume reduction surgery - which will be covered by Medicare starting [...]
