The state of Iowa did not sufficiently monitor its health home care program providers for at least four years, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in improper reimbursement, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found upon review. The Medicaid health home care option allows states flexibility in creating programs that produce care coordination and […]
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The aging population and shortage of caregivers in Arizona has created a near-crisis. The state has responded by pairing its Medicaid program with three insurers in an effort to create a steady long-term care workforce. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) inked contracts with Southwest Catholic Health Network Corp., Banner-University Family Care and United […]
A hospital can provide free home care to reduce readmissions, despite a federal ban on giving patients freebies that could influence their care decisions. That’s according to a recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG). OIG’s advisory opinion comes in response to a […]
A federal watchdog is planning to take a deeper look at home health billing practices nationwide. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently announced it intends to identify the common characteristics of “at-risk” home health agencies using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Comprehensive […]
The owners of a Washington, D.C., home care agency have been found guilty of bilking the District of Columbia Medicaid program of more than $80 million. On Nov. 12, a jury found Florence Bikundi, 52, and her husband Michael Bikundi, 63, guilty of a slew of charges, including health care fraud, Medicaid fraud, money laundering […]
Several state Medicaid programs are unprepared to pay home health workers overtime, minimum wage or traveling expenses under new regulations—though some states, like Kansas, have been more vocal about the issue than others. A U.S. Department of Labor rule that extends overtime and minimum wage protections to about 2 million home health workers took effect Oct. 13. This […]
Guardian Hospice of Georgia LLC, Guardian Home Care Holdings Inc. and AccentCare Inc—collectively known as Guardian, a for-profit company that provides hospice services in Atlanta, Georgia—agreed to pay $3 million following allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare for hospice patients who were not terminally ill. The Justice Department announced the settlement resolves allegations […]
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