Improper payment levels continue dogging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which announced they rose significantly last year for both health programs. Additionally, the agency reported that...
Congress gets tough on EHR interoperability
By
John Hall
Mar 23, 2015
Providers using incompatible or uncertified electronic health record systems by the end of 2018 could face reduced Medicare reimbursements under a bill introduced Thursday in both houses of Congress.
Justice Department investigating Humana billing practices
By
John Hall
Feb 24, 2015
Humana Inc. reports that it is cooperating with a Department of Justice inquiry into whether it exaggerated the severity of elderly patients’ illnesses to generate higher Medicare reimbursements.
State ombudsman programs must follow federal rules, HHS says
By
John Hall
Feb 12, 2015
The Department of Health and Human Services is giving states until July 1, 2016 to get in step with long-established federal guidelines governing the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.
Homicide charges follow sudden illness of six assisted living residents
By
John Hall
Mar 18, 2015
A 98-year-old woman’s death in a south suburban Chicago assisted living facility has been ruled a homicide. She and five others were hospitalized in early February after suffering breathing difficulties....
Poor staffing led to poor care, state says in lawsuit
By
John Hall
Apr 03, 2015
New Mexico has filed suit against one of the nation’s largest nursing home operators for providing what it claims were inadequate resources that led to poor care and improper billing. One leading...
Improper coding for doctors’ evaluation and management visits costs Medicare billions, OIG report
By
John Hall
May 30, 2014
Documentation coding errors related to routine patient evaluation and management (E/M) visits are costing the Medicare program billions of dollars in improper payments a year — nearly $7 billion alone...
How to do it… Design for infection control
By
John Hall
Jan 06, 2017
During remodeling or in between, providers must be continuously mindful of keeping environments clean. “Designers, housekeeping staff and maintenance professionals need to take every opportunity...
OIG report prods federal regulators to get tougher
By
John Hall
May 22, 2015
A Congressional watchdog group this week criticized the Department of Health & Human Services for failing to keep its improper payment rates low in its Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid programs.
Healthcare now the biggest cyber-attack target, report reveals
By
John Hall
May 11, 2015
The leading causes for breaches and attacks on healthcare organizations Ponemon identified are (in order of severity): theft, employee negligence and malware. The biggest vulnerability for each of the...