The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) today published a report regarding overpayments identified made to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (“IRFs”) from 2004 through 2007. According to the report, of the claims reviewed by the OIG, the vast majority (i.e., 213 out of 220) of transfers from an IRF to another facility…
It looks like the days of “voluntary” compliance programs for the health care industry are coming to an end. Specifically, Section 6401(a)(7) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA” or the “health care reform bill”) included provisions mandating compliance programs as part of the Medicare enrollment process. According…
CMS has released their proposed disclosure requirements for In-Office Ancillary Services (IOAS) Exception. Section 1877 of the Act or the physician self-referral law (Stark) prohibits a physician from making referrals for certain “designated health services” (DHS) payable by Medicare to an entity with which he or she has a financial…
CMS has released the proposed physician fee schedule and other Medicare Part B payment policies to ensure their payment systems reflect the changes in medical practice and relative value services. This update also addresses certain provisions of both the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act…
According to a press release of the Department of Justice dated June 14, 2010, a Texas management physician, Dr Anthony Francis Valdez, was arrested and stands charged with carrying out an estimated $41 million fraudulent health care benefit program billing scheme. Valdez is the owner of the Institute of Pain…
OIG has posted an advisory opinion No. 10-08 concerning two affiliated corporate entities that both operate a freestanding radiation oncology center and intend to provide to their Medicare cancer patients the services of a dietitian and social worker at no additional charge as part of their patient’s treatment. The proposed…
By letter dated June 16, 2010, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (“ASA”) continued its efforts to request that the OIG intervene to issue a Special Advisory Bulletin prohibiting what is called the anesthesia “company model.” The ASA originally made the request to the OIG in March of 2009; however, to…
Attention physicians, according to the WPS website, they are conducting a widespread Service-Specific Prepayment Probe on CPT code 99213, using samples obtained from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota for all specialties. This probe arises after a Medical Review analysis of claims in the May 2009 sample period revealed 217 CERT…
On June 9, 2010, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report regarding inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) payments made in 2006 and 2007. According to this report, over half of the claims reviewed (i.e., 113 out of 200 claims) resulted in overpayments, because the providers failed to submit patient…
On May 28, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Transmittal 128, which clarifies CMS policies regarding physician supervision of diagnostic and therapeutic services provided to hospital outpatients. The transmittal, effective on July 1, 2010, updates the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). In the transmittal, CMS specifies…