Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Watchdog Criticizes Medicare Rule That Allows Drug Purchases After Patient's Death
The Associated Press: Medicare Bought Meds For Dead People
A report coming out Friday from the Health and Human Services Department’s inspector general says the Medicare rule allows payment for prescriptions filled up to 32 days after a patient’s death — at odds with the program’s basic principles, not to mention common sense. “Drugs for deceased beneficiaries are clearly not medically indicated, which is a requirement for (Medicare) coverage,” the IG report said. It urged immediate changes to eliminate or restrict the payment policy. Medicare said it’s working on a fix. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/31)
The Hill: Medicare Finalizes $60M Cut To Home Health
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a $60 million cut to home health agencies for 2015 in a rule released Thursday. The cut equals 0.3 percent of Medicare payments to the industry, which provides home-based medical services to roughly 3.5 million seniors. Groups representing home healthcare providers have lobbied to stop the cuts, arguing they will endanger care for vulnerable patients with few clinical options. (Viebeck, 10/30)
CQ Healthbeat: Medicare Shaves 2015 Home Health Payments By Net $60 Million
Medicare said it expects to reduce its 2015 expenses for home health services by $60 million, the cumulative effect of balancing policies that adjust certain payments. ... The release was the first of a series of payment rules that Medicare is expected to issue this week. Other rules cover physician fees and outpatient services provided by hospitals, as well as care at ambulatory surgical centers. Additional rules cover dialysis treatment and medical equipment and devices. (Young, 10/30)
The Associated Press: Dignity Health Pays $37M For Overcharging Medicare
A large hospital chain based in Northern California agreed Thursday to pay $37 million to settle allegations that it overcharged the federal Medicare program. San Francisco-based Dignity Health also agreed to hire an independent auditor to review its Medicare claims. The settlement resolves a 2009 whistleblower lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court by a former Dignity worker who claimed the hospital chain submitted false and inflated Medicare claims from 2006 to 2010. The former worker, Kathleen Hawkins, will receive about $6.25 million. Hawkins' lawsuit claimed that 13 of Dignity's hospitals often admitted patients for procedures that could have been done less expensively in an outpatient setting. Operations such as installing pacemakers and stents in patients' hearts were billed as expensive in-patient procedures instead of less expensive out-patient operations. (Elias, 10/30)
