A proposed bill, the Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act, introduced in the House on Tuesday would double penalties for Medicare fraud. Sentences for Medicare fraud would be increased from 5 to 10 years and fines from $25,000 to $50,000. In addition, it would create a new crime for distributing…
Providers and suppliers that receive request letters from Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) should ensure the following: The claims selected involve issues approved for review on their RAC region’s approved issues list. The request letters meet the timeframes and medical record limits set by CMS. The particular claims at issue have…
The healthcare reform legislation included changes for home health and DME providers. First of all, DME or home health services may only be ordered for Medicare beneficiaries by Medicare enrolled physicians or eligible professionals. In addition, Medicare enrolled physicians are required to have a face-to-face encounter with a patient prior…
The Health Reform bill, or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, amended the definition of remuneration in the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. The amendment clarifies that certain charitable activities are not prohibited under the law. The amended law excludes the following from qualifying as remuneration: Any remuneration which promotes…
On Monday, April 6, 2010, Andrew Wachler was a guest speaker at the RAC Monitor webinar, where he discussed Medicare inpatient/outpatient reimbursement issues and the financial impact they have on hospitals and health systems.
Andrew Wachler, principal of Wachler & Associates, P.C., presented “The New Audit Landscape: MICs, MACs, and RACs” in an American Bar Association (ABA) teleconference with James Sheehan, New York Medicaid Inspector General.
Region A: The RAC for Region A, DCS Healthcare, posted three new issues for non-medical necessity DRG validation inpatient claims review for providers in District of Columbia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Region B: Region B’s RAC, CGI, added 20…
In a decision issued February 10, 2010, the Medicare Appeals Council reached a decision on an appeal from the RAC Demonstration Project. The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) initially found that the provider had received an overpayment for the inpatient services covered under Medicare Part A, but the beneficiary met the…
Yet another way that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Act), otherwise known as the Health Reform bill, impacts health care providers is the strengthening of the Federal False Claims Act (FCA). For example, Section 6402 of the Act amends Section 1128 B of the Social Security Act…
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Healthcare Reform Bill, signed into law last week by President Obama, includes several provisions from the National Pain Care Policy Act. The National Pain Care Policy Act is legislation designed to improve pain care for the more than 76.5…