On August 2, 2012 the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on questionable billing by Home Health Agencies (HHAs). The report found that in 2010, Medicare paid home health claims totaling approximately $5 million as a result of questionable billing, with three…
On August 1, 2012 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Provider Compliance Interactive Map. The map is an interactive online tool that allows users to view state-by-state contact information and websites for contractors and other Medicare resources. The map is intended to simplify access to contact…
In the recently issued Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Proposed Rule for 2013, CMS is soliciting comments regarding policy changes that could be made on the issue of inpatient versus outpatient admission. (To view the CMS factsheet please click here.) CMS is seeking comments on potential changes which could…
On July 17, 2012 the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York issued a press release announcing the arrest of 48 individuals in what the release calls the largest single prescription drug diversion scheme ever charged at one time. The result of an organized effort by…
On June 28, 2012 the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services issued a report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that addresses instances of duplicative payments for prescription drugs for hospice beneficiaries. The report includes the results of an audit…
On July 6, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a 765 page proposed rule addressing changes to the physician fee schedule, payments for Part B drugs, and other Medicare Part B payment policies. (To view the proposed rule please click here .) Of particular interest to…
Members of the United States House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a request on June 26, 2012 to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a study of redundancy in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contractor audits. The request included four specific questions that, at a minimum, the committee…
On June 8, 2012, Robert Vito, Regional Inspector General for Evaluation and Inspections at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The testimony focused on the current OIG assessment of…
On May 29, 2012 the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina overturned the Medicare Appeals Counsel’s (MAC’s) decision regarding one evaluation and management (E/M) service claim. Six years earlier, a CMS Program Safeguard Contractor audited Dr. Ojebuoboh. It was determined that the government had overpaid…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced it will release a national provider Comparative Billing Report addressing Home Oxygen Services. The release is scheduled for June 26, 2012. The CBRs are produced by Safeguard Services under contract with CMS and will provide comparative data to help show…