Auditing entities are utilizing more sophisticated electronic data mining methods than ever before. Today’s sophisticated data mining techniques enable auditors to identify greater cost recoveries, making auditing activities both more efficient and more effective. Auditors utilize statistical data mining testing to determine whether a provider’s billing practices are statistically different…
As of July 1, 2013, Change Request 8005 requires outpatient therapy service providers to report new functional G-codes and modifiers on claims for physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), and speech-language pathology (SLP) services or face Medicare payment denials. The G-codes will be used to identify the primary issue being…
Earlier this year, Connolly, Inc., the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) for Region C, posted a new issue to its CMS-Approved Issues List targeting Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (SBRT) and Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) services for providers in the following states: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey,…
Effective June 17, 2013, state Medicaid fraud control units (MCFUs) will be authorized to receive Federal funding for data mining, an audit technique used to identify Medicaid provider fraud. The Department of Health and Human Services Department (HHS) released a final rule on May 17, 2013, which modified an existing…
Hospital lobbying groups are pushing for Congress to pass the Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2013, which would put a cap on the amount of document requests that Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) may demand from providers. Specifically, the bill would limit RAC document requests to 2% of hospital claims and…
On May 21, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its settlement agreement with Idaho State University (ISU) for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) violations. The $400,000 settlement agreement involves ISU’s self-reported breach of unsecured electronic protected health information (ePHI) of about 17,500 patients. HHS…
On May 17, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an interim final rule, which lowers payments to providers for services furnished to individuals enrolled in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). The new rule will require providers to accept Medicare rates for services provided to PCIP…
On May 13, 2013, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that C.R. Bard Inc. agreed to pay the United States $48.26 million to resolve allegations that Bard knowingly caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA). Bard is a corporation based out…
On May 8, 2013, in a retrial of a 2010 case, a federal jury found that Tuomey Healthcare System (Tuomey) in Sumter, SC violated both the Stark Law and the False Claims Act (FCA). The jury found that Tuomey violated the FCA by submitting 21,730 claims to the Medicare program…
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) is auditing physicians who have conducted in-office Drug of Abuse (DOA) screening test. The purpose of these BCBSM audits is to determine whether the services, treatment, devices, and procedures that the physician billed to BCBSM conformed to Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes at…