Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

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Getting claims for repair of DME capped rental items to go through could become a lot harder, thanks to a new OIG report claiming the Medicare program paid more than $30 million in possible error for such repairs from 2006 to 2008.

CMS erroneously allowed $2.2 million for maintenance and $4.4 million for repairs to beneficiary-rented capped DME, the report says. The cost of repairs is included in the monthly rental payments.

Beneficiaries contacted by the OIG reported a range of problems with suppliers from whom they obtained their capped rental equipment, including suppliers failing to customize power mobility devices correctly and being difficult to reach.

The OIG wants CMS to increase edits, enforcement, and safeguards against such erroneous payments, plus consider tracking accumulated repair costs of capped DME. The report is at http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-07-08-00550.pdf.

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