In a new report released Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) highlighted dozens of its unimplemented recommendations for reducing fraud, waste and abuse throughout the Medicare and Medicaid systems. Many of the recommendations were tied to home health, hospice and personal care services, in addition to how […]
Category: Fraud
As restitution for violating state wage laws, a Massachusetts home health care company and its owner have been ordered to pay $162,000 in penalties and back wages to more than 230 employees. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday that Worcester-based Pinnacle Home Healthcare Services Inc. and owner Pauline Mwangi failed to pay caregivers their […]
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is looking to relax federal anti-kickback rules related to how, when and where physicians refer their patients. Doing so could mean smoother referral relationships for home health providers, especially the biggest ones and those operating within an accountable care organization (ACO). Efforts to loosen anti-kickback regulations come from the […]
Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE: EHC) — the largest operator of in-patient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) in the country, with a network of hundreds of home health and hospice locations to boot — has agreed to pay $48 million to resolve false claims allegations. The Birmingham, Alabama-based company had previously disclosed the matter in its public filings […]
Three additional home health agency owners have been sentenced to a combined 117 months in prison for their roles in multi-million dollar fraud schemes. The recent sentencings bring April’s home health-related fraud cases to at least five overall, a total that broadly reflects the increased scrutiny and oversight the industry currently faces. On April 22, […]
Federal watchdogs continue to ramp up oversight of home care companies for minimum wage and overtime pay violations, a Wednesday report from Bloomberg Law suggests. Meanwhile, caregiver registries are creating uncertainty as to whether they should be considered employers. Over the past few months, several home care companies across the U.S. have been met with […]
So far, April has already seen two home health industry officials sentenced to a combined 15 years of prison time for their roles in multi-million scams, plus a conviction in the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) biggest health care fraud scheme ever. On April 4, DOJ announced the former director of nursing and administration of […]
HomeCare.com alum joins LifeMatters Silver Spring, Maryland-based home care provider LifeMatters has hired a new COO. Daniel Gold comes to the position after serving as executive vice president and COO of HomeCare.com, which offers tools and technologies to connect families and caregivers. Gold has worked in different capacities within the post-acute care since the early […]
Despite increased oversight efforts, improper payments under Medicare and Medicaid are costing the federal government billions of dollars, a new report from the watchdog arm of Congress has found. And home health providers appear to be the root of the problem. In fiscal year 2018, improper Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments totaled $31.6 billion for all […]
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is making good on its long-held promise to ramp up oversight of home- and community-based services, requesting an extra $10 million in its fiscal year 2020 budget to tackle fraud, waste and abuse in those areas. The extra funding — which would increase this portion of OIG’s budget […]