Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
Stop Stamping Signatures On Your DME Forms
Plus: CMS may expand diagnostic testing coverage for cancer patients' PET scans. In 2007, CMS announced a ban on stamped physician signatures for hospice forms, then last year said stamped signatures were out for home health agency (HHA) forms too. Now it's clarifying that stamped signatures and stamped dates won't work for durable medical equipment (DME) forms, according to Dec. 31, 2008 CR 6261 (Transmittal No. 281). "Signature and date stamps are not acceptable for use on CMNs (certificates of medical necessity) and DIFs (DME MAC information forms)," CMS says in the transmittal. "Your Medicare contractors will accept only hand written, facsimiles of original written and electronic signatures and dates on medical record documentation for medical review purposes on CMNs and DIFs," CMS adds in a MLN Matters article on the subject. The transmittal is at www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/ downloads/R281PI.pdf. The MLN Matters article is online at www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6261.pdf. In other news ... • Remember: If you get a letter in the mail from your CERT contractor, take matters seriously. Several readers have told us that if their CERT contractor requests an audit of one record, they put the request on the back burner as "low priority." However, even if the auditor requests just one chart, you should still follow the directions on the request letter. You should create a plan for getting off-site charts ahead of time, so when you get a request from the contractor, you can fulfill it within the allotted 45 day limit. If you don't agree with the outcome of a CERT audit, you have the right to appeal, starting with the redetermination level. Make sure you have your documentation in order before filing any appeals. For more on the CERT process, visit www.cms.hhs.gov/cert. • One Maryland rehab practice paid dearly for allegations of violating the anti-kickback statute. Advanced Centers for Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Inc. and Maryland Sportscare and Rehabilitation LLC have agreed to collectively pay the United States $238,912.47 to settle claims that they violated the federal Anti-Kickback statute, according to an Oct. 16, 2008 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The government contends in the settlement agreements that from January 2002 to October 2004, Advanced Centers referred patients to MSR for physical therapy services and paid a referral fee of $30 per patient up to 150 patients and $36 per patient for every referral thereafter. At the same time, MSR leased space from Advanced Centers at a rate that "far exceeded" the fair market rate for similar spaces, in what the government insists is a kickback scheme. Additionally, Advanced Centers settled "double billing" claims that were based upon submitting multiple claims to Medicare that resulted in multiple payments for the same physical therapy service. To read the full press release, visit www.usdoj.gov/usao/md. • Despite being halfway through the term, CMS isn't divulging any details on the home health pay for performance demonstration project In its newly updated "Roadmap for Implementing Value Driven Healthcare in the Traditional Medicare Fee-for-Service Program," CMS notes that the home health P4P project will run through December 2009. CMS also issued newly updated roadmaps for quality and resource use measurement at www.cms.hhs.gov/QualityInitiativesGenInfo.
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Stop Stamping Signatures On Your DME Forms
Plus: CMS may expand diagnostic testing coverage for cancer patients' PET scans. If you've become accustomed [...]
