The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published an Early Alert report regarding the preliminary results of an ongoing study of potential abuse or neglect in Medicare-certified Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). In the report dated August 24, 2017, the OIG determined that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has inadequate procedures to ensure that incidents of potential abuse or neglect of Medicare beneficiaries residing in SNFs are properly identified and reported. The OIG audit is continuing, but the preliminary results were issued because of the importance of detecting and combating elder abuse. Continue reading
Category Archives: Office of Inspector General
Emerging Compliance Issue: Recent False Claims Act Settlements Based on Improper Billing for Evaluation and Management Services by Physicians
An emerging health care compliance issue for hospitals and health systems is a potential liability under the Federal False Claims Act (FCA) based on billing for evaluation and management (“E & M”) services provided by employed physicians. Although potential liability for billing for E&M services (i.e., office visits) is not new, several recent FCA settlements should remind hospitals and health systems that the government may consider the submission of claims for E&M services under improper codes to result in a false claim. Continue reading
OIG Announces August 2017 Work Plan Updates
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently announced on June 15, 2017 that it will be updating the OIG Work Plan on a monthly basis rather than as it previously did once or twice a year. The OIG’s Work Plan includes several projects that the OIG’s Office of Audit Services (OAS) and Office of Evaluation and Inspections (OEI) are currently undertaking or planning to undertake in the future. The topics and focus of these projects are often indicators of potential compliance risk areas for health care providers and other participants in the health care industry. Continue reading
Compliance Risk for Physician Practices in Waiving Patient Copays and Deductibles
The waiver of coinsurance and deductibles owed by patients treated by physicians and other health care providers has come under increased scrutiny recently. Although there are no clear legal prohibitions, commercial health insurers have aggressively pursued out-of-network provides who fail to collect or waive amounts owed by their insureds under different statutory regulations.
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Conducting Required Reviews Can Save Your Facility from Embarrassment – and Worse!
Even though we know the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” background checks on on personnel can sometimes fall through the cracks. Here are a few examples of times that make us wish we would have double-checked to be sure they were getting done:
- A state surveyor is on-site investigating and advises that the allegation of neglect or abuse is against a tech who was convicted for beating up his father a year before he was hired.
- In employing a favorite PRN nurse who has been around for a couple of years, you learn that she never obtained a license when she moved here from Texas. You realize there may now be returnable overpayments, because she is not appropriately licensed to perform the services in our state.
- You want to impress your new venture partner, and cringe when they discover in due diligence that your team has not checked the excluded provider or debarred contractor lists in a few years.
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