Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Doctors Use False Addresses In Medicare, GAO Finds
The Wall Street Journal: Government Report Cites Shortfalls In Medicare’s Screening Process For Doctors
Over the past five years, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs Medicare, has been revamping its enrollment system and verifying provider information, such as addresses and licensure. The overhaul is partly due to requirements of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The CMS said Tuesday that as a result of its enhanced screening efforts, it has kicked more than 34,000 providers out of the program since February 2011. The GAO says that some screening problems persist, however, among the 1.8 million providers enrolled to bill Medicare from nearly a million addresses. The report estimated that about 23,400 addresses might be invalid. (Weaver, 7/21)
The New York Times: Federal Report Says Many Doctors Use False Addresses For Medicare
Federal investigators said Tuesday that thousands of doctors and other health care providers had signed up to bill Medicare using “questionable addresses” like mailbox rental stores, vacant lots and a fast-food restaurant. The investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, said Medicare officials did not adequately verify the addresses that providers listed as their practice locations. (Pear, 7/21)
In other Medicare news -
The Associated Press: Trustees Rating Health Of Social Security, Medicare
The federal government’s two largest benefit programs face short- and long-term financial problems as they close in on milestone anniversaries. The magnitude of those problems will become clearer when the trustees for Social Security and Medicare issue their annual report cards. (Ohlemacher and Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/22)
