Medicare
WASHINGTON—A new report from the 33rd annual Retirement Confidence Survey finds a decline in the confidence Americans feel in having enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years. The report also finds both workers and retirees are very concerned about inflation and its impact on their savings and spending.
MIAMI (October 13, 2022)—A Unites States’ federal district judge has sentenced 56-year-old Ariel Madero Paez to 55 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for submitting more than $2.2 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 11, 2022)—Three individuals, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Team Gleason filed a suit against Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra last week over Medicare home health benefits. The plaintiffs claim Becerra is violating their rights under the Medicare Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by impeding and restricting the availability, accessibility and coverage of home health services.
Washington, D.C. (August 18, 2022)—The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare announced the results of a newly conducted national public opinion poll on the Medicare Home Health Program. The poll found widespread and deep support for Medicare home health care services and the need to prevent Medicare cuts to home health care.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 28, 2022)—The American Association for Homecare’s (AAHomecare) quarterly supplier number tracking sheet is now available with July 2022 data.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 8, 2022)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and a group of likeminded organizations have written to Brian Slater, director of the Division of Home Health and Hospice in the Center for Medicare Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reiterate strong support for the authority of nurse practitioners (NPs) and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) to order and certify home health services for Medicare beneficiaries.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (June 24, 2022)—A Charlotte, North Carolina, doctor is facing federal charges for her role in a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme that defrauded federal benefits programs of more than $11 million, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Sudipta Mazumder, 46, of Charlotte, is charged with one count of health care fraud and six counts of making false statements relating to health care matters.
Nearly 18 months after getting COVID-19 and spending weeks in the hospital, Terry Bell struggles with hanging up his shirts and pants after doing the laundry.
Lifting his clothes, raising his arms, arranging items in his closet leave Bell short of breath and often trigger severe fatigue. He walks with a cane, only short distances. He’s 50 pounds lighter than when the virus struck.
HOUSTON (May 6, 2022)—A Texas home health agency owner and patient recruiter have been arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit, committing health care fraud and conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 28, 2022)—Home health providers participating in the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model are performing 7% better than their counterparts, according to a new report from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations (CMMI). The model covers Medicare-certified home health providers in Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Washington, Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska and Tennessee.
WASHIGNTON, D.C. (April 28, 2022)—Legislation has recently been introduced that would work to improve the Medicare enrollment process for individuals nearing Medicare eligibility, aged 60-64. Longtime homecare champions Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) and Todd Young (R-Indiana) are leading the charge for the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification 2.0 (BENES 2.0) Act, (S. 2675).
WASHINGTON, D.C (April 19, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule with comment period that finalizes two remaining proposals from the original proposed rule that laid out policy and technical changes to the Medicare Advantage program, Medicare Part D, Medicaid and more. That proposed rule was originally issued in February 2020.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2022)—The Biden-Harris Administration announced that more than 59 million Americans with Medicare Part B, including those enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, now have access to FDA approved, authorized or cleared over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost. People with Medicare can get up to eight tests per calendar month from participating pharmacies and health care providers for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 1, 2022)—On Monday, March 28th, President Biden released a $5.8 trillion proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which begins Oct. 1, 2022. While the White House budget is simply a request and Congress has final say on government spending, it does provide a window into the president’s priorities and where his administration wants to direct its efforts going forward.