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Two Midnight Rule Implementation Delays Announced

Tuesday, March 18th, 2014

CMS Issues Further Delays And Implementation Of The Two-Midnight Rule

In late January, the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services announced that it will delay implementation of regulations pertaining to the two-midnight rule.  CMS announcements state that Medicare administrative contractors will not audit for compliance with the rule until October 1, 2014.

The two-midnight rule provides that an admission does not qualify for per diem reimbursement where a physician admits a patient with an expectation that treatment will require a stay of covering at least two nights.  CMS indicates that this policy merely clarifies its longstanding consideration of when admission meets criteria to be covered as an inpatient rather than as an observation or outpatient.

Under the two-midnight rule, services that are not considered to be medically necessary unless the two midnight inpatients stay rule are met.  This does not mean that there is no coverage at all.  It is possible that the service would be paid as an observation stay or as an outpatient service.  MACs will continue to perform reviews of 10-25 selected clients per hospital per admission dates between March 31 and September 30.  However, the reviews will be considered “probe and educate” reviews and will not lead to administrative sanctions.  However, providers should be completely ready and implement with the rule by October 1, 2014 date that CMS states it will use as a more formal implementation date.

 

Annual Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Report

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

Record Recovery for Health Care Fraud and Abuse

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released its annual Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC) report. This report indicates that in the last three years for every dollar spent on health care related fraud and abuse investigations through HCFAC and other government programs, the government recovered $8.10. This is a record high for the 17-year old program.  HCFAC focuses on eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in the health care industry.

A few notes on the report’s numbers:shutterstock_1766714

•      The federal government recovered a record-breaking $4.3 billion in fiscal year 2013 alone.
•      Over the last five years, the federal government recovered $19.2 billion—this is more than double the previous five-year period.
•      In fiscal year 2013, the DOJ and HHS strike force team filed 137 cases, charged 345 individuals with crimes, secured 234 guilty pleas, and achieved 46 convictions.
•      Defendants sentenced in fiscal year 2013 served an average of 52 months in prison.
•      Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have banned 225,000 individuals and entities from billing Medicare between March 2011 and September 2013.

Attorney General Eric Holder states that, “With these extraordinary recoveries, and the record-high rate of return on investment we’ve achieved on our comprehensive health care fraud enforcement efforts, we’re sending a strong message to those who would take advantage of their fellow citizens, target vulnerable populations, and commit fraud on federal health care programs,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

The return on investigation investment suggests that the federal government’s interest in investigating and prosecuting health care fraud and abuse is substantial. In short, health care compliance is more important than ever.

Telemedicine Credentialing By Proxy

Tuesday, February 12th, 2013

Telemedicine Credentialing By Proxy and Hospital Policies

telemedicine policies credentialing telehealthProvider Credentialing requirements raise important considerations in any telemedicine arrangement. The facility where care is received, renders a diagnosis, or otherwise provides clinical treatment to a patient, must assure that a telemedicine practitioner is appropriately credentialed and privileged in compliance with their credentialing process, CMS rules, and the requirements of applicable accreditation organizations.  The process for credentialing telemedicine providers should be addressed by the governing body and reflected in medical staff bylaws and formal credentialing policies.

Credentialing standards have been somewhat streamlined since CMS adopted new regulations that were effective in June of 2011.  CMS rules now permit “credentialing by proxy” provided that several conditions are met.  It remains the responsibility of the board to determine when or if it wishes to rely on “credentialing by proxy” or whether it should apply full credentialing requirements on remote providers of telemedicine services.  Even though the process has been simplified, credentialing of providers who perform telemedicine services to patients of a hospital is still an extremely important responsibility of the hospital board.

Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems Hospitals Long-Term Care Hospital Fiscal Year 2013 Rates

Friday, October 26th, 2012

IPPS Revisions Released By CMS

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We are revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals to implement changes arising from our continuing experience with these systems. Some of the changes implement certain statutory provisions contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively known as the Affordable Care Act) and other legislation. These changes will be applicable to discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2012, unless otherwise specified in this final rule. We also are updating the rate-of-increase limits for certain hospitals excluded from the IPPS that are paid on a reasonable cost basis subject to these limits. The updated rate-of-increase limits will be effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2012.

 We are updating the payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) and implementing certain statutory changes made by the Affordable Care Act. Generally, these changes will be applicable to discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2012, unless otherwise specified in this final rule.

 In addition, we are implementing changes relating to determining a hospital’s full-time equivalent (FTE) resident cap for the purpose of graduate medical education (GME) and indirect medical education (IME) payments. We are establishing new requirements or revised requirements for quality reporting by specific providers (acute care hospitals, PPS-exempt cancer hospitals, LTCHs, and inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs)) that are participating in Medicare. We also are establishing new administrative, data completeness, and extraordinary circumstance waivers or extension requests requirements, as well as a reconsideration process, for quality reporting by ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) that are participating in Medicare.

We are establishing requirements for the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.

 DATES: Effective date: This final rule is effective on October 1, 2012.

OIG Issues 2013 Annual Work Plan, Outlines Areas of Focus for Fiscal Year Ahead

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

OIG 2013 Annual Work Plan Summary 

            Medical Practice Compliance Programs  The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) has published their annual work plan for the 2013 fiscal year (“2013 Work Plan”).  The Work Plan focuses on areas where OIG plans to focus significant resources during the 2013 fiscal year.  The 2013 Work Plan creates opportunities for providers to get a glimpse of what the OIG feels is important and to integrate these areas into their ongoing compliance activities.

              This update will briefly summarize some of the new issues that were added this year.  It is not a comprehensive description of all items that are on the OIG’s radar.  Providers are advised to review the entire 2013 Work Plan plus the work plans from the past several years to get a more complete picture of issues that the OIG feels are important.

Hospital-Related Issues

1.           Expansion of DRG Payment Window.  OIG states its intent is to analyze claims data to determine whether any savings could be achieved by bundling outpatient services that are delivered up to 14 days before a hospital inpatient admission.  Current Medicare policy bundles outpatient services that are delivered three days prior to inpatient admission into the “DRG window.”

2.           Provider-Based Status of Hospital on Physician Practices.  There is currently an incentive for a physician group to bill as a provider-based physician practice where there are ties to a hospital.  The OIG will be reviewing the appropriateness of physician practices who are billing as “provider-based” groups without meeting all of the necessary criteria.

3.           Medicare Transfer Policy.  The OIG will review Medicare payments made to hospitals for beneficiary discharges that should more appropriately have been coded as transfers.  Hospitals that transfer beneficiaries to another facility are not entitled to the full DRG payment that is due when a patient is properly discharged.  This creates an incentive for hospitals to code for a discharge when the patient is actually being transferred to another facility.  The OIG will be reviewing hospital billings to look for inappropriate “discharge” classifications.  Hospitals should audit their discharge and transfer practices to be certain that they are properly coding transfers where applicable.

4.           Payment for Discharges to Swing Beds and Other Hospitals.  Currently, Medicare does not reduce the DRG amount that is paid when a patient transfer is made into a “swing bed,” even when the “swing bed” is located in a separate facility.  The OIG will be reviewing this practice to determine whether any savings can come from reducing DRG payments when the swing bed transfer is made to another facility.

5.           Hospital Payments for Canceled Surgical Procedures.  The OIG will be reviewing payments that are made for canceled surgical procedures which are then followed by a second payment for a rescheduled procedure.  Current Medicare policy does not preclude payments for claims when there is an inpatient stay followed by canceled surgical procedure.  CMS will be reviewing this policy to determine whether savings can be made in this area.

6.           Payments from the Mechanical Ventilation.  CMS will be reviewing Medicare payments for mechanical ventilation.  Patients are required to receive 96 hours of mechanical ventilation in order to be eligible for payments under the DRG system.

7.           Improve An Organization Work With Hospital.  OIG will be reviewing the extent that Quality Improvement Organizations have worked with hospitals to conduct quality improvement projects and to provide technical assistance.

8.           Hospital Acquisition of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.  OIG will be reviewing hospital acquisitions of ambulatory surgery centers to determine whether these centers are being acquired as a method to increase reimbursement.  ASC services that are provided as in an outpatient department of the hospital are reimbursed at higher rates than independently owned an ambulatory surgery centers.

9.           Critical Access Hospital Payments for Swing Bed Services.  Critical access hospitals are able to designate a portion of the 25 bed allotment for use as acute care or swing bed services with CMS’s approval.  There is no limitation on the length of stay that is permitted for swing bed utilization.  The OIG will be reviewing this policy to determine whether reimbursement changes are required in this area.

Long Term Care Issues

1.           Long-Term Care Hospital Interrupted State Payments.  The OIG will be reviewing Medicare payments for interrupted stays in long-term care hospitals for the year 2011.  They will be identifying readmission patterns to determine whether the long-term care hospital’s re-admittance policies are in compliance with rules.

2.           Nursing Home Verification of State Agency Deficiency Corrections.  The OIG will be determining whether state survey agencies properly followed up and verified fulfillment of corrective action plans for deficiencies and identified during nursing home recertification surveys.  The OIG is concerned that state survey agencies may not always be verifying that identified deficiencies were properly corrected.

3.           Nursing Home Use of Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs.  The OIG will be reviewing administration of atypical antipsychotic drugs to nursing home residents.  The OIG will describe characteristics associated with nursing homes that frequently administer atypical antipsychotic drugs.

4.           Nursing Home Minimum Data Set Submissions.  OIG will determine whether CMS and state agencies oversee the accuracy and completion of minimum data sets that are submitted for nursing facilities.

Home Health Care

1.           Home Health Agency Face-To-Face Requirements.  OIG will be reviewing Medicare eligible home health services to be certain that face-to-face encounters are taking place as required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  Previous studies indicated that only 30% of beneficiaries had at least one face-to-face visit with the physician who ordered the home health.

2.           Criminal Background Checks By Home Health Agencies.  The OIG will be reviewing home health agencies to determine whether they are complying with state requirements that require criminal background checks to be conducted on home health applicants and employees.  Federal law requires compliance with state and local laws regarding criminal background checks.  In previous OIG reviews, 92% of nursing homes employed at least one individual with criminal convictions.

Medical Equipment Suppliers

1.           Accreditation of Medical Equipment Suppliers.  OIG will be reviewing CMS procedures for conducting validation surveys of medical equipment suppliers.  CMS is required to conduct validation surveys regarding beneficiary safety and quality of care that may place Medicare beneficiaries at risk.

2.           Payments for Power Mobility Devices.  A series of reviews will be conducted relative to power mobility devices.  Reviews will focus on whether Medicare payments made to suppliers were made in accordance with federal regulations and were “reasonable and necessary.”  OIG will also be reviewing payment methods to determine whether savings can be achieved by eliminating the option of a lump sum purchase and requiring leasing of some power mobility devices.

3.           Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Supplies.  CMS will be reviewing whether scheduling of replacement supplies is appropriate and whether changing the scheduling could avoid possible wasteful spending.  There is currently no national requirement for CPAP replacement schedules.

4.           Diabetes Testing Supplies.  There are a number of new areas identified for examination relating to diabetes testing supplies.  Providers involved in these areas should carefully review the new items that relate to diabetes management and testing.

Program Integrity

1.           Onsite Visits for Medical Providers in Supplier Enrollment and Reenrollment.  CMS has the right as it deems necessary to perform onsite inspections of providers who are enrolling in the Medicare program.  CMS is authorized to expand the role of unannounced pre-enrollment visits.  Reviews found that some 33% of medical equipment suppliers in South Florida do not maintain physical facilities.  OIG will be examining these requirements to determine whether additional site visits are appropriate.

2.           Improper Use of Commercial Mailboxes.  Medicare providers are required to establish a physical business location with a permanent visible sign and a specific street addresses.  Mailboxes alone or not permitted.  Recent evidence suggests that individuals attempting to defraud Medicare may be using commercial mailbox addresses for this purpose.  OIG will be reviewing providers and suppliers to determine whether their listed addresses match commercial mailbox addresses.

3.           Provider Subject To Debt Collection.  CMS will be determining whether payment should be rechanneled relative to providers who have been reported to the Department of Treasury for collection of overpayment refunds.

Physician Billing

1.           Payment for Personally Performed Anesthesia Services.  OIG will be reviewing anesthesia claims to determine whether they are supported in accordance with Medicare requirements.  In order for a provider to be reimbursed as a personally performed anesthesia service, proper information must be included on the claim and in the medical chart to verify the claim.  Service modifier “AA” is used in connection with anesthesia services that are personally perform.  QK modifiers are used for medical direction of two, three, four concurrent anesthesia services.  Providers using “AA” modifiers must be able to support the requirement for receiving 100% of the personally performed services.

2.           Questionable Ophthalmological Service Billings for 2011.  OIG will be reviewing claims data to identify questionable billings for ophthalmologic services during 2011.  They will review geographic locations and provider patterns where questionable billings are located.  The types of billing that will be examined were not identified.

3.           Electrodiagnostic Testing.  OIG will be reviewing questionable billing for electrodiagnostic testing and will be attempting to identify Medicare utilization rates and get different rates by provider specialty, diagnosis, and geographic areas.  OIG identifies electrodiagnostic testing as an area of potential inappropriate financial gain posing significant vulnerabilities to the Medicare program.

Miscellaneous

1.           Location Requirements for Rural Health Clinics.  Rural health clinics are required to meet basic location requirements.  CMS has not promulgated final regulations allowing removal of rural health clinics that did not meet location requirements.  OIG will be reviewing this procedure.

2.           Claims Processing Areas “G” Modifiers.  The OIG will determine the extent to which Medicare improperly paid claims from 2002 to 2011 where certain “G” modifiers were used.  “G” modifiers are used to indicate that Medicare denial is expected by the provider.  It has been identified that some payments were made to providers in spite of the use of these modifier codes.

3.           Analysis of Drug Shortage in Patient Safety Concerns.  The OIG will be examining the recent trend of drug shortages to determine whether there has been an effect on pricing of pharmaceuticals.  Suspicion of industry price manipulation appears to be the motivation behind this system.

Summary

              This is a brief summary of some of the areas that were described in the recent 2013 Work Plan.  For a more comprehensive discussion of these items, visit the website for the Office of Inspector General and download the complete fiscal year 2013 annual work plan.  It is highly advisable for compliance officers to examine the document in its entirety to determine what impact, if any, it will have on their compliance efforts for fiscal year 2013.  It is also good practice to review annual work plans for several previous years as part of the risk identification process.

              If there are any questions regarding these requirements or how they impact compliance programs and detailed requirements that are generally described in this document, please do not hesitate to contact John H. Fisher, II, Esq., CCEP, CHC.

OIG Work Plan New Hospital Issues Added For 2013

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

 

OIG 2013 Work Plan – Hospital Issues Aded To OIG Work Plan

Hospitals—Inpatient Billing for Medicare Beneficiaries (New)

Hospitals—Diagnosis Related Group Window (New)

Hospitals—Non-Hospital-Owned Physician Practices Using Provider-Based Status (New)

Hospitals—Compliance With Medicare’s Transfer Policy (New)

Hospitals—Payments for Discharges to Swing Beds in Other Hospitals (New)

Hospitals—Payments for Canceled Surgical Procedures (New)

Hospitals—Payments for Mechanical Ventilation (New)

Hospitals—Quality Improvement Organizations’ Work With Hospitals (New)

Hospitals—Acquisitions of Ambulatory Surgical Centers: Impact on Medicare Spending (New)

Critical Access Hospitals—Payments for Swing-Bed Services (New)

Long -Term-Care Hospitals—Payments for Interrupted Stays (New)

 

Issues That Continue To Be On OIG Radar

Hospitals—Same-Day  Readmissions

Hospitals—Acute-Care Inpatient Transfers to Inpatient Hospice Care

Hospitals—Admissions With Conditions Coded Present on Admission

Hospitals—Inpatient and Outpatient Payments to Acute Care Hospitals

Hospitals—Inpatient Outlier Payments: Trends and Hospital Characteristics

Hospitals—Reconciliations of Outlier Payments

Hospitals—Duplicate Graduate Medical Education Payments

Hospitals—Occupational-Mix Data Used To Calculate Inpatient Hospital Wage Indexes

Hospitals—Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Claims for the Replacement of Medical Devices

Hospitals—Outpatient Dental Claims

Hospitals—Outpatient Observation Services During Outpatient Visits

Critical Access Hospitals— Variations in Size, Services, and Distance From Other Hospitals

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities—Transmission of Patient Assessment Instruments

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities—Appropriateness of Admissions and Level of Therapy

IRS Proposed Regulations Defining Section 501(r) Responsibilities

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

In the week before the Supreme Court decided the landmark case upholding the Affordable Care Act, the Treasury Department issued proposed regulations providing regulatory detail on the aspects of new Code Section 501(r) that regulates a non‑profit hospital’s financial assistance programs.  We have previously covered the requirement that a 501(c)(3) organization conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) but have not previously covered some of the other requirements of Section 501(r).

 The Supreme Court’s recent affirmation of the Affordable Care Act means that the requirements of Section 501(r), including the financial assistance portions of that provision, will go forward as planned.

 The Treasury Department’s new proposed regulations provide guidance on the requirements for complying with Code Sections 501(r)(4)-(6) which require hospitals to establish financial assistance policies, limit certain charges to financial assistance eligible individuals, and regulates billing and collection methods.

 Financial Assistance Policy

 Section 501(r)(4) requires a hospital organization to establish a written financial assistance policy (“FAP”) and a written policy relating to emergency medical care.  Both policies are required to include specific information. 

 The proposed regulation further identifies the information that a hospital facility is required to include in its FAP and the methods a hospital facility must use to publicize its FAP.  What a hospital facility must include in its emergency medical care policy is also clarified.

 Limitation on Charges to FAP-eligible Persons

 Section 501(r)(5) requires a hospital organization to limit amounts charged for medically necessary care provided to FAP-eligible persons to not more than the amount that would be billed to individuals who have insurance covering such care (“AGB”).  

 What does AGB Stand for?

 The proposed regulation describes how a hospital facility determines the AGB it can charge a FAP-eligible individual for medically necessary care.  A hospital facility will not fail to satisfy this requirement if it charges an individual more than AGB, as long the hospital facility is complying with all requirements regarding notifying individuals about the FAP, responding to submitted applications, and correcting the amount charged if the individual is later found to be FAP-eligible.

 Extraordinary Collection Efforts

 Section 501(r)(6) requires a hospital organization to make reasonable efforts to determine whether an individual is FAP-eligible before engaging in extraordinary collection actions against the person.

 The proposed regulation clarifies what actions are “extraordinary collections actions” and the “reasonable efforts” that a hospital facility must make to determine FAP-eligibility before engaging in such actions.

 What Entities Does Section 501(r) Apply To?

 Finally, the proposed regulations also provide guidance on which entities are required to meet the requirements of the above-mentioned sections.  Specifically, a definitions section defines “hospital organization,” “hospital facility,” and other key terms used in the regulation.

 Hospital facilities are encouraged to review their policies regarding FAP and consider how these proposed regulations may impose new requirements for maintaining their tax-exempt status.  In addition, the Department of Treasury invites comments and requests for a public hearing until September 24, 2012.

 For further information, please contact Mary Ellen Schill, John H. Fisher, CHC or your regular Ruder Ware attorney contact.

Present-On-Admission Indicators – Hospital Acquired Conditions

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

OIG To Review Accuracy Of Present-On-Admission Indicators – Hospital Acquired Conditions

In 2008, CMS began requiring hospitals to submit indicators for present-on-admission (“POA”) with each Medicare diagnoses code.  This enables CMS to identify which diagnoses were present when the patient was admitted and which developed during the term of the stay in the hospital.  Hospitals do not receive any additional compensation relative to conditions that develop during the term of the hospital stay.  In fact, hospitals with high rates of hospital-acquired conditions receive reduced Medicare payments under the Affordable Care Act.

The 2012 work plan includes a new item relating to hospital-acquired conditions.  The OIG will be using certified coders to review claims for accuracy of POA indicators.  It appears that the OIG will be providing this information to CMS to assist CMS in fulfilling its responsibilities to reduce payment to hospitals with high levels of hospital-acquired conditions.  This action item reflects increased focus on the issue of hospital acquired conditions.

Excluded Party Screening – Compliance Program Key Element

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Screening For Excluded Providers
Key Elements Of Your Compliance Program

Most hospitals and larger healthcare organizations have gone through the process of developing compliance programs and are aware of the prohibitions against entering relationships with parties who have been excluded from a federal health care program.  Smaller organizations may not be aware of their responsibilities to screen all employees, vendors and contracting parties for exclusion.

Providers, such hospitals, medical groups, ambulatory surgery centers and home health agencies are subject to civil monetary penalties for submitting claims for healthcare items or services that are provided by excluded individuals or companies.  Fines can reach as high as $10,000 per item or service.  The fines can be astronomical if goods or services are regularly provided by the excluded party.

For this reason, compliance programs will generally include policies and procedures that require screening prior to contracting or employment.  Regular periodic screening is also highly recommended.  Smaller organizations and physician practices are at the most risk of violating these provisions.  These organizations have generally not yet faced the creation of formal compliance programs; although compliance programs will be mandatory in upcoming years.

 All health care providers must establish policies and procedures to be certain that they do not contract with excluded parties.

Hospital Acquired Conditions – 2012 OIG Work Plan

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

OIG To Review Accuracy Of Present-On-Admission Indicators – Hospital Acquired Conditions

 In 2008, CMS began requiring hospitals to submit indicators for present-on-admission (“POA”) with each Medicare diagnoses code.  This enables CMS to identify which diagnoses were present when the patient was admitted and which developed during the term of the stay in the hospital.  Hospitals do not receive any additional compensation relative to conditions that develop during the term of the hospital stay.  In fact, hospitals with high rates of hospital-acquired conditions receive reduced Medicare payments under the Affordable Care Act.

 The 2012 work plan includes a new item relating to hospital-acquired conditions.  The OIG will be using certified coders to review claims for accuracy of POA indicators.  It appears that the OIG will be providing this information to CMS to assist CMS in fulfilling its responsibilities to reduce payment to hospitals with high levels of hospital-acquired conditions.  This action item reflects increased focus on the issue of hospital acquired conditions.

John H. Fisher

Health Care Counsel
Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C.
500 First Street, Suite 8000
P.O. Box 8050
Wausau, WI 54402-8050

Tel 715.845.4336
Fax 715.845.2718

Ruder Ware is a member of Meritas Law Firms Worldwide

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