Medicare Fraud: A $60 Billion Crime

[boedicca]

B'loney.

Any giveaway by the government entails a Moral Hazard. Fraud happens routinely - it's not a bug, it's a feature.

All financial reimbursement/disbursement programs are vulnerable to fraud. Private health insurers have a lower rate -- but not by that much.

Ask yourself why you can depend on your bank to keep track of deposits and withdrawals, but your insurance company cannot do it? Answer? Better controls.

A better question is why can't the government keep better track of disbursements.

 

[Madeline]

B'loney.

Any giveaway by the government entails a Moral Hazard. Fraud happens routinely - it's not a bug, it's a feature.

All financial reimbursement/disbursement programs are vulnerable to fraud. Private health insurers have a lower rate -- but not by that much.

Ask yourself why you can depend on your bank to keep track of deposits and withdrawals, but your insurance company cannot do it? Answer? Better controls.

How do you know it's better controls? Insurance has been one of the most regulated parts of our society for years.

"Regulation" focuses on what should happen, John...but I have yet to see a regulation that describes the minimum level of controls needed for an insurance data processing system. The dp system is not the only sort of control needed, of course, but it is core to any anti-fraud effort.

 

[Madeline]

B'loney.

Any giveaway by the government entails a Moral Hazard. Fraud happens routinely - it's not a bug, it's a feature.

All financial reimbursement/disbursement programs are vulnerable to fraud. Private health insurers have a lower rate -- but not by that much.

Ask yourself why you can depend on your bank to keep track of deposits and withdrawals, but your insurance company cannot do it? Answer? Better controls.

A better question is why can't the government keep better track of disbursements.

They could. The question is why don't they? The answer seems to be, that would reduce income to those defrauding us.

 

[Greenbeard]

Why has NO ONE, Democrat, Republican or Indepedent passed legislation to tackle this? Should we shut down MediCare?

Congress recently did pass a law cracking down on fraud in Medicare and Medicaid. That includes things like additional funding and authority for the government to go after fraudsters, rule changes designed to make fraud more difficult, and enhanced penalties. From a helpful summary of that law, here are the relevant bits of it:

Subtitle E – Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP Program Integrity Provisions

Sec. 6401. Provider screening and other enrollment requirements under Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.

Provider Screening. Requires that the Secretary, in consultation with the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG), establish procedures for screening providers and suppliers participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. The Secretary would be required to determine the level of screening according to the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse with respect to each category of provider or supplier. At a minimum, all providers and suppliers would be subject to licensure checks. The Secretary would have the authority to impose additional screening measures based on risk, including fingerprinting, criminal background checks, multi-State data base inquiries, and random or unannounced site visits. An application fee of $200 for individual practitioners and $500 for institutional providers and suppliers would be imposed to cover the costs of screening each time they re-verify their enrollment (every five years). Section 10603 removes the enrollment fee for physicians.

Disclosure Requirements. Providers and suppliers enrolling or re-enrolling in Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP would be subject to new disclosure requirements. Applicants would be required to disclose current or previous affiliations with any provider or supplier that has uncollected debt, has had their payments suspended, has been excluded from participating in a Federal health care program, or has had their billing privileges revoked. The Secretary would be authorized to deny enrollment in these programs if these affiliations pose an undue risk to a program.

Compliance Programs. By a date determined by the Secretary, certain providers and suppliers would be required to establish a compliance program. The requirements for the compliance program would be developed by the Secretary and the HHS OIG.

Sec. 6402. Enhanced Medicare and Medicaid program integrity provisions.

Integrated Data Repository. Requires CMS to include in the integrated data repository (IDR) claims and payment data from the following programs: Medicare (Parts A, B, C, and D), Medicaid, CHIP, health-related programs administered by the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DOD), the Social Security Administration, and the Indian Health Service (IHS).

Access to Data. The Secretary would be required to enter into data-sharing agreements with the Commissioner of Social Security, the Secretaries of the VA and DOD, and the Director of the IHS to help identity fraud, waste, and abuse. The Committee Bill would grant the HHS OIG and the Department of Justice (DOJ) access to the IDR for the purposes of conducting law enforcement and oversight activities consistent with applicable privacy, security, and disclosure laws.

Overpayments. Requires that overpayments be reported and returned within 60 days from the date the overpayment was identified or by the date a corresponding cost report was due, whichever is later.

National Provider Identifier. Requires the Secretary to issue a regulation mandating that all Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP providers include their NPI on enrollment applications.

Medicaid Management Information System. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold the Federal matching payment to States for medical assistance expenditures when the State does not report enrollee encounter data in a timely manner to the State’s Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS).

Permissive Exclusions. Subjects providers and suppliers to exclusion for providing false information on any application to enroll or participate in a Federal health care program.

Civil Monetary Penalties. Expands the use of Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) to excluded individuals who order or prescribe an item or service, make false statements on applications or contracts to participate in a Federal health care program, or who know of an overpayment and do not return the overpayment. Each violation would be subject to CMPs of up to $50,000.

Testimonial Subpoena Authority. The Secretary would be able to issue subpoenas and require the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of any other evidence that relates to matters under investigation or in question by the Secretary.

Surety Bonds. Requires that the Secretary take into account the volume of billing for a DME supplier or home health agency when determining the size of the surety bond. The Secretary would have the authority to impose this requirement on other providers and suppliers considered to be at risk by the Secretary.

Payment Suspensions. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend payments to a provider or supplier pending a fraud investigation. As amended by Section 1304 of the Reconciliation Act, allows a 90-day period of enhanced oversight and withholding of payment in cases where the HHS Secretary identifies a significant risk of fraud among DME suppliers.

Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Account. As amended by Section 1301 of the Reconciliation Act, increases Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) funding by $350 million over the next decade. The provision would also permanently apply the CPI-U adjustment to HCFAC and Medicare Integrity Program (MIP) funding.

Medicare and Medicaid Integrity Programs. Requires Medicare and Medicaid Integrity Program contractors to provide the Secretary and the HHS OIG with performance statistics, including the number and amount of overpayments recovered, the number of fraud referrals, and the return on investment for such activities.

Sec. 6403. Elimination of duplication between the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank and the National Practitioner Data Bank. Requires the Secretary to maintain a national health care fraud and abuse data collection program for reporting certain adverse actions taken against health care providers, suppliers, and practitioners, and submit information on the actions to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The Secretary would also be required to establish a process to terminate the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Databank (HIPDB) and ensure that the information formerly collected in the HIPDB is transferred to the NPDB.

Sec. 6404. Maximum period for submission of Medicare claims reduced to not more than 12 months. Beginning January 2010, the maximum period for submission of Medicare claims would be reduced to not more than 12 months.

Sec. 6405. Physicians who order items or services required to be Medicare enrolled physicians or eligible professionals. Requires durable medical equipment (DME) or home health services to be ordered by a Medicare eligible professional or physician enrolled in the Medicare program. The Secretary would have the authority to extend these requirements to other Medicare items and services to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. Section 10604 clarifies that only physicians enrolled in the Medicare program may order home health services under Medicare Part A and Part B.

Sec. 6406. Requirement for physicians to provide documentation on referrals to programs at high risk of waste and abuse. Beginning January 1, 2010, the Secretary would have the authority to disenroll, for no more than one year, a Medicare enrolled physician or supplier that fails to maintain and provide access to written orders or requests for payment for DME, certification for home health services, or referrals for other items and services. The provision would also extend the HHS OIG’s permissive exclusion authority to include individuals or entities that order, refer, or certify the need for health care services that fail to provide adequate documentation to verify payment.

Sec. 6407. Face-to-face encounter with patient required before physicians may certify eligibility for home health services or durable medical equipment under Medicare. Requires physicians to have a face-to-face encounter with the individual prior to issuing a certification for home health services or DME. The Secretary would be authorized to apply the face-to-face encounter requirement to other items and services based upon a finding that doing so would reduce the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse. Section 10605 clarifies that the face-to-face encounter required prior to certification for home health services may be performed by a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse-midwife, or physician assistant.

Sec. 6408. Enhanced penalties. Subjects persons who fail to grant HHS OIG timely access to documents, for the purpose of audits, investigations, evaluations, or other statutory functions, to CMPs of $15,000 for each day of failure. Also, persons who knowingly make, use, or cause to be made or used any false statement to a Federal health care program would be subject to a CMP of $50,000 for each violation. The violations that could be subject to the imposition of sanctions and CMPs by the Secretary would include Medicare Advantage (MA) or Part D plans that: (1) enroll individuals in a MA or Part D plan without their consent, (2) transfer an individual from one plan to another for the purpose of earning a commission, (3) fail to comply with marketing requirements and CMS guidance, or (4) employ or contract with an individual or entity that commits a violation. Penalties for MA and Part D plans that misrepresent or falsify information would be increased to up to three times the amount claimed by a plan or plan sponsor based on the misrepresentation or falsified information.

Sec. 6409. Medicare self-referral disclosure protocol. Within six months of enactment, the Secretary, in cooperation with the HHS OIG, would be required to establish a self-referral disclosure protocol to enable health care providers and suppliers to disclose actual or potential violations of the physician self-referral law.

Sec. 6410. Adjustments to the Medicare durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies competitive acquisition program. Requires the Secretary to expand the number of areas to be included in round two of the competitive bidding program from 79 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) to 100 of the largest MSAs, and to use competitively bid prices in all areas by 2016.

Sec. 6411. Expansion of the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program. Requires States to establish contracts with one or more Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs). These State RAC contracts would be established to identify underpayments and overpayments and to recoup overpayments made for services provided under State Medicaid plans as well as State plan waivers. The Secretary would also be required to expand the RAC program to Medicare Parts C and D.

Subtitle F – Additional Medicaid Program Integrity Provisions

Sec. 6501. Termination of provider participation under Medicaid if terminated under Medicare or other State plan. Requires States to terminate individuals or entities from their Medicaid programs if the individuals or entities were terminated from Medicare or another State’s Medicaid program.

Sec. 6502. Medicaid exclusion from participation relating to certain ownership, control, and management affiliations. Requires Medicaid agencies to exclude individuals or entities from participating in Medicaid for a specified period of time if the entity or individual owns, controls, or manages an entity that: (1) has failed to repay overpayments during the period as determined by the Secretary; (2) is suspended, excluded, or terminated from participation in any Medicaid program; or (3) is affiliated with an individual or entity that has been suspended, excluded, or terminated from Medicaid participation.

Sec. 6503. Billing agents, clearinghouses, or other alternate payees required to register under Medicaid. Requires any agents, clearinghouses, or other alternate payees that submit claims on behalf of health care providers to register with the State and the Secretary in a form and manner specified by the Secretary.

Sec. 6504. Requirement to report expanded set of data elements under MMIS to detect fraud and abuse. Requires States and Medicaid managed care entities to submit data elements from MMIS as determined necessary by the Secretary for program integrity, program oversight, and administration.

Sec. 6505. Prohibition on payments to institutions or entities located outside of the United States. Prohibits States from making any payments for items or services provided under a Medicaid State plan or waiver to any financial institution or entity located outside of the United States.

Sec. 6506. Overpayments. Extends the period for States to repay overpayments to one year when a final determination of the amount of the overpayment has not been determined due to an ongoing judicial or administrative process. When overpayments due to fraud are pending, State repayments of the Federal portion would not be due until 30 days after the date of the final judgment.

Sec. 6507. Mandatory State use of national correct coding initiative. Requires States to make their MMIS methodologies compatible with Medicare’s national correct coding initiative (NCCI) that promotes correct coding and controls improper coding.

Sec. 6508. General effective date. Requires States to implement fraud, waste, and abuse programs before January 1, 2011.

Subtitle G—Additional Program Integrity Provisions

Sec. 6601. Prohibition on false statements and representations. Employees and agents of multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) will be subject to criminal penalties if they provide false statements in marketing materials regarding a plan’s financial solvency, benefits, or regulatory status.

Sec. 6602. Clarifying definition.

Sec. 6603. Development of model uniform report form. To facilitate consistent reporting by private health plans of suspected cases of fraud and abuse, a model uniform reporting form will be developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, under the direction of the HHS Secretary.

Sec. 6604. Applicability of State law to combat fraud and abuse. The Department of Labor will adopt regulatory standards and/or issue orders to prevent fraudulent MEWAs from escaping liability for their actions under State law by claiming that State law enforcement is preempted by Federal law.

Sec. 6605. Enabling the Department of Labor to issue administrative summary cease and desist orders and summary seizures orders against plans in financially hazardous condition. The Department of Labor is authorized to issue “cease and desist” orders to temporarily shut down operations of plans conducting fraudulent activities or posing a serious threat to the public, until hearings can be completed. If it appears that a plan is in a financially hazardous condition, the agency may seize the plan’s assets.

Sec. 6606. MEWA plan registration with the Department of Labor. MEWAs will be required to file their Federal registration forms, and thereby be subject to government verification of their legitimacy, before enrolling anyone.

Sec. 6607. Permitting evidentiary privilege and confidential communications. Permits the Department of Labor to allow confidential communication among public officials relating to investigation of fraud and abuse.​

And one more section:

Subtitle D – Reducing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

Sec. 1301. Community mental health centers. Establishes new requirements for community mental health centers that provide Medicare partial hospitalization services in order to prevent fraud and abuse.

Sec. 1302. Medicare prepayment medical review limitations. Streamlines procedures to conduct Medicare prepayment reviews to facilitate additional reviews designed to reduce fraud and abuse.

Sec. 1303. Funding to fight fraud, waste and abuse. Increases funding for the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Fund by $250 million over the next decade. Indexes funds to fight Medicaid fraud based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index.

Sec. 1304. 90-day period of enhanced oversight for initial claims of DME suppliers. Allows a 90-day period of enhanced oversight and withholding of payment in cases where the HHS Secretary identifies a significant risk of fraud among DME suppliers.​