[1] the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) said Visiting Nurse Association of Maryland (VNA) received overpayments of $2.1 million in 2015 and 2016. OIG audited a stratified random sample of 100 claims and found errors on 19 of them. As a result, VNA received overpayments of $25,295 for services provided in 2015 and 2016. “On the basis of our sample results, we estimated that VNA received overpayments of at least $2.1 million for the audit period,” according to OIG, which noted all the claims are outside the reopening period. OIG said VNA billed for services provided to beneficiaries who weren’t homebound or delivered services that were inconsistent with the plan of care, among other errors. VNA disagreed with most of OIG’s findings. In a letter to OIG, the home health agency said, “VNA stands firm that it was providing covered services,” and “the error rate does not support extrapolation.”
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CMS said Dec. 18 it will audit a sample of hospitals for compliance with price transparency requirements, which take effect Jan. 1, according to
MLN Connects.
[1] In addition, CMS will investigate complaints submitted to CMS and review “analyses of non-compliance, and hospitals may face civil monetary penalties for noncompliance.” CMS has a website for people to report noncompliance.
[2]
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The American Hospital Association (AHA), Association of American Medical Colleges and other groups said Dec. 14 they have filed a lawsuit
[3] against HHS, alleging it failed to enforce the requirements of the 340B drug discount program. “This lawsuit will require the department to take actions that we’ve long called for against drug companies that are disregarding the law by limiting the distribution of certain 340B drugs to eligible hospitals. It’s time to stop these illegal actions from drug companies and protect vulnerable patients and communities,” said AHA Preside
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 43 (December 7, 2020) - In a new provider compliance audit, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) said The Palace at Home, a.