The OIG recently published a report showing that from 2006 to 2008, Medicare allowed $2.2 million for routine maintenance and servicing of capped rental durable medical equipment (DME) with rental periods. These payments were erroneously made because the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) dramatically limited, if not eliminated, routine…
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report finding that Medicare contractors overpaid physicians an estimated $13.8 million for services provided during calendar year 2007 with incorrect place of service codes. The OIG report reminded physicians that they must identify the place of…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently published an MLN Matters Article regarding the length of time physicians are required to retain documentation. The article reiterated that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires a covered entity to retain required documentation for six years from…
The American Hospital Association (AHA) reported on August 10 that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have approved “medical necessity review” audits for the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program. According to the AHA, the approved audits include 18 types of inpatient hospital claims and one type of durable…
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a discovery that during the time period from July 15, 2010 through August 4, 2010 the search/verification function on the online searchable List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) was not working properly. Therefore, health care…
Michigan’s Attorney General Mike Cox announced a community forum to be held next week regarding the proposed sale of the Detroit Medical Center to Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. Earlier this year, DMC signed a purchase agreement that would require Vanguard to make $850 million in capital improvements over the next…
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an advisory opinion regarding the Anti-Kickback Statute. The OIG concluded that the Anti-Kickback Statute would not be implicated where a charitable donation is made in the name of a healthcare provider, so long as…
On July 28 the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California granted the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) motion for summary judgment in the case, Palomar Medical Center v. Sebelius. The case, filed on May 26, 2010, challenged a magistrate judge’s recommendation that HHS is correct…
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on July 29 that it will make available $51 million in grants to help states initiate health insurance exchanges, mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Grants of up to $1 million will be made available to each state. …
The Detroit Free Press reported that an effort to give Michiganians a constitutional right to opt-out of participation in the Federal healthcare program failed to obtain enough signatures to place the proposal on the November ballot. The group, Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom, estimated that it turned in between 145,000-170,000…