Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
TENET OUTLIERS FACE MORE SCRUTINY
Federal agencies gang up on hospital giant. Yet another federal agency is looking into beleaguered Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s billing practices connected with Medicare outlier payments -but the Tenet probe could be just the tip of the iceberg for stepped-up enforcement at hospitals across the country. The Santa Barbara, CA-based chain said July 9 that the Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a formal investigation of the company and has subpoenaed outlier-related documents dating back to 1997. The HHS Office of Inspector General began looking into Tenet's practices last year, and the Department of Justice jumped on board Jan. 2. As things go for Tenet, so may they for other hospitals suspected of abusing the outlier system. Despite the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' recent publication on new rules designed to stifle abuses, watch for the feds to pursue suspicious-looking past claims in coming months. Lesson Learned: Outlier payments aren't just a problem for Tenet - the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has ordered its contractors to look into potential overpayments at hospitals across the country.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- MedicareRx:
REFORM BILLS COULD CHANGE GREATLY DURING CONFERENCE
The final draft placed on president's desk could be quite different from either bill. Now [...] - HealthPlans:
HEALTH PLANS SAY REFORM BILLS WILL CONSTRAIN MARKET
The administration has put its weight behind a Medicare private-plan structure that would offer comprehensive [...] - HomeHealth:
HOME HEALTH INDUSTRY HAS MUCH AT STAKE IN REFORM BILLS
Background Check Proposal Catches HHAs By Surprise. The Medicare bills passed by the House and [...] - Rehab:
THERAPISTS WIN RESPITE ON THERAPY CAP
Eleventh-hour decision delays dreaded reimbursement cap-but will the delay be long enough? Rehab providers got [...] - Physicians:
MORE INFO ON PHYSICIANS GOES ONLINE
Medicare beneficiaries get more details on doctors. More information on more physicians is now accessible [...] - Physicians:
DOCS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR RETROACTIVE OVERPAYMENTS
Physicians' summer won't be as bleak as feared. Physicians won't have to cough up overpayments [...] - HomeHealth:
MEDICARE BUMPS UP HHA RATES 3.3% IN 2004
Home health agencies will see a nice little increase in Medicare payment rates come October [...] - Hospitals:
CMS, PREMIER LAUNCH PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE DEMO
Starting next year, top performing hospitals can get a boost in their Medicare reimbursements under [...] - Hospice:
INCREASED MEDICARE RATES ON DECK FOR HOSPICE
Community networking, fundraising key to staying in the black If the payment increase offered by [...] - Hospitals:
TENET OUTLIERS FACE MORE SCRUTINY
Federal agencies gang up on hospital giant. Yet another federal agency is looking into beleaguered [...] - BILL WATCH/REGISTER WATCH/PROGRAM MEMO ROUNDUP
BILL WATCH
Bills introduced in the House: H.R. 2664. A bill to provide for Medicare reimbursement [...] - Fraud&Abuse:
10 KEY MEDICARE/MEDICAID ENFORCEMENT AREAS
OIG's acting chief tells what her agency is worried about. Despite years of stepped up [...]
