Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

CMS hasn't suspended any more Miami-area agencies' payments, but it is zeroing in on questionable physician relationships to get at the problem. CMS is "implementing extensive pre- and post-payment review of claims submitted by ordering/referring physicians" and "validating claims submitted by physicians who order a high number of certain items or services by sending follow-up letters to these physicians," CMS says in the release.

Further, the agency is "verifying the relationship between physicians who order a large number of home health services and the beneficiaries for whom they ordered those services," CMS says.

In person: The agency is also "identifying and visiting high risk beneficiaries to ensure they are appropriately receiving the services for which Medicare is being billed," according to the release.