The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services recently started releasing 11 short video and audio presentations for health care providers on top health care compliance topics. The free videos and audio podcasts cover health care fraud and abuse laws, the basics of health care compliance programs and what to do when a compliance issue arises.
HomeCare News
The Supreme Court last week in a 5-4 decision sent back to the lower courts a case in which California health providers are suing over state Medicaid cuts. At issue is whether providers and beneficiaries may bring legal action against the state to enforce the federal Medicaid statute. Earlier, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services accepted some of the state's provider rate reductions while the case was under review.
Philips Respironics, a unit of Royal Philips Electronics, last week introduced the SimplyGo, a portable oxygen concentrator (POC) that offers continuous flow (up to 2 liters per minute) and pulse-dose delivery in a single device weighing 10 pounds or less.
A presidential advisory panel last week released a draft version of a national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive form of dementia that already affects more than 5 million Americans and is growing as the population ages.
The American Association for Homecare last week urged providers to continue to push for the Market Pricing Program (MPP).
“Make sure your members of Congress are aware of the dangerous problems created by the competitive bidding program,’’ the association said in a release. “More than 30 disability and consumer groups, 244 economists, and 166 Representatives in the House oppose the bidding program.”
The U.S. Justice Department and the Department of Health & Human Services released a report Feb. 14 showing that the government recovered a record $4.1 billion for health care fraud settlements and overpayments in FY2011.
Twenty-one Philadelphia-area Medicare beneficiaries sent a letter to Pennsylvania’s two senators last week expressing fear of competitive bidding arriving in Round 2 of the Medicare program.
President Obama’s budget proposal would slash reimbursement to state Medicaid programs for beneficiaries who use home oxygen and other durable medical equipment by extending Medicare’s competitive bidding program to those programs, the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness reported last week.
Jeffrey S. Baird is chairman of the Health Care Group of Brown & Fortunato, a law firm based in Amarillo, Texas. He represents HME providers, pharmacies and other health care providers throughout the United States. Here is a Q&A conversation with him about new requirements that are emerging for reporting and returning overpayments:
QUESTION: What exactly is the 60-day repayment rule?
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius last week announced that her agency will postpone the date that certain health care entities must comply with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10). The final rule adopting ICD-10 as a standard was published in January 2009 and set a compliance date of Oct. 1, 2013. HHS has not yet announced a new compliance date.
Thousands of concerned seniors and caregivers in Philadelphia joined a Feb. 7 town hall teleconference to learn how Medicare’s competitive bidding program will affect access to quality home medical equipment and timely service.
Golden Technologies last week introduced a power chair version of the popular LiteRider™ scooters to its line of cash retail products. The LiteRider PTC model GP160, is a lightweight, compact portable power chair designed to fit into the smallest spaces, whether in a car or home.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has scheduled a National Provider Call on the Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program on Tuesday, Feb. 21, from 1:30-3 p.m. ET. Experts will provide an overview on claims-based reporting for both programs, followed by a question and answer session. Registration closes at noon the day of the call or when space has been filled.
About 1 in 20 Americans now have artificial knee replacements, according to a recent study by researchers at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. That means about 4 million people have undergone the joint replacement operation, which costs about $40,000. Authorities said the data was important because many of these patients will require follow-up procedures and care as these artificial joints wear out in coming decades.
The American Medical Association’s 2012 National Advocacy Conference was conducted last week in Washington, Feb. 13-15. Doctors and medical students visited Capitol Hill to advocate change of the Sustainable Growth Rate formula for Medicare payments. The formula is being discussed by a bi-partisan committee. If Congress fails to take action, a 27 percent physician payment cut will occur on March 1.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) last week voiced strong opposition to copayments on home health services included in President Obama’s proposed budget.
An online petition against competitive bidding gained traction last week ahead of AAHomecare’s Washington Legislative Conference Feb. 15 and 16. The petition, which was the brainchild of an HME provider’s daughter, quickly attracted 1,500 signatures and support from 15 state and regional HME associations.
The HME industry suffered a setback last week when Congress reached a quick and unexpected agreement on the so-called “doc fix” bill. HME advocates had hoped to attach a replacement for competitive bidding on the measure, but it moved forward without the replacement, the Market Pricing Program (MPP).
Essentially Women, a premier group purchasing organization for women’s health care products, has scheduled Focus on the Future 2012, its 12th annual educational conference and tradeshow, March 11-13 in Orlando, Fla.
Bidding is underway for Round 2 of Medicare’s Competitive Bidding Program for durable medical goods in 91 metropolitan areas, or about 75 percent of the nation.
The 60-day bidding window opened on Monday, Jan. 30. Registration for the program closed on Thursday, Feb. 9.
HME providers are submitting bids online using the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) DMEPOS Bidding System (DBidS).