The home health care industry could experience some changes in 2014 such as Medicare copayments for new beneficiaries or increased fraud prevention measures for agencies receiving federal reimbursements. Some aspects of President Obama’s 2013 budget pertaining to home health care will likely remain for next year’s budget, expected to be released on April 10, according […]
Category: Medicare
The owner and director of nursing of a Louisiana home health agency were each convinced Friday for conspiring to defraud Medicare of $17.1 million, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Louis T. Age, 64, and Verna S. Age, 60, both of Slidell, La., were each convicted by a federal jury in the Middle District […]
Senate Finance Committee members scolded the federal Medicare agency last Thursday for not doing enough to prevent overpayments following the release of a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General. Medicare made nearly $70 million in overpayments to suppliers of durable medical equipment, and most of […]
Two Congress members have set out to clear the air about their work to fix Medicare’s competitive bidding system, after claiming an article from USA Today inaccurately represented them. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) claimed that as co-sponsors of a bill to fix the program, the USA Today article portrayed them […]
Hospice of Arizona, L.C., its related entity American Hospice Management LLC, and their parent corporation American Hospice Management Holdings LLC have agreed to pay $12 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false reimbursement claims to Medicare for ineligible hospice services, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. Between Sept. […]
Medicare margins to home health agencies are projected to be about 11.8% in 2013, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) in its latest report to Congress, representing a decrease from previous years. Payments to home health agencies have consistently and “substantially” exceeded costs, according to MedPAC, with Medicare margins reaching 14.8% in 2011 […]
The American Association for Homecare (AAHC) is making a formal request to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate Medicare’s competitive bidding program. The request stems from the unwillingness of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to share information about the bidding system, such as how […]
Health Net Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of Health Net Inc. (NYSE: HNT) has announced funding grants to help bolster home health care delivery in Los Angeles County. Through $150,000 in grant funding provided to Northeast Valley Health Corporation and 27 additional Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and community clinics, a new in-home health care […]
Techota, LLC has agreed to pay $150,000 in a federal lawsuit that it violated the False Claims Act by fraudulently billing Medicare for unnecessary services. The lawsuit stems from allegations that Techota made false claims for payments to Medicare for home health services that were not medically reasonable or necessary, or were not provided under […]
Hospice enrollment saves Medicare dollars and improves quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries among many enrollment periods, even shorter ones, according to new research published in the March issue of Health Affairs. Previously, the Medicare hospice benefit has been seen as producing savings only for patients enrolled 53-105 days before death, but new data shows […]
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