Now that the new year is upon us, today’s post will look at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG), in particular, OIG’s priorities for 2013.   According to OIG’s Fiscal Year 2013 Work Plan, it will be focusing upon a number of topics of interest – including some items not addressed last year.

OIG’s planned reviews of Medicare Part A and Part B will include:

● Billing patterns for nursing home stays.

● Accreditation of medical equipment suppliers, with a particular focus on quality standards.

● Claims submitted by medical equipment suppliers for lower limb prosthetics, power mobility devices and vacuum erection systems.

● Replacement of medical equipment, especially the frequency and necessity of that replacement.

● Independent physical therapists’ claims and whether the claims are reasonable, medically necessary and properly documented.

● Billing for electrodiagnostic testing.

● Ensuring that payments are not made for alien beneficiaries who were unlawfully present in the United States.

● Reviewing payments for Part A and Part B services to avoid claims starting after a beneficiary has died. 

 

Special attention should be paid to these areas in the coming year given OIG’s additional scrutiny.