According to the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Medicare program continues to make inappropriate payments on behalf deceased beneficiaries and beneficiaries who are unlawfully-present in the country. First, despite safeguards intended to prevent and recover Medicare payments made on behalf of deceased beneficiaries, Medicare inappropriately paid $23 million in 2011 for claims with service dates after beneficiaries' deaths. The majority of the improper payments were made under Medicare Part C. The OIG recommended a series of steps to improve payment safeguards in this area and to address providers and suppliers identified by the OIG with high numbers of claims with service dates after beneficiaries' deaths.
In a separate report, the OIG found that CMS did not adequately prevent Medicare Part D payment for unlawfully-present beneficiaries for calendar years 2009 through 2011. As a result, CMS inappropriately accepted 279,056 prescription drug event records submitted by Part D sponsors with unallowable gross drug costs totaling $29.0 million on behalf of 4,139 unlawfully-present beneficiaries. CMS used those records to make final payment determinations to sponsors. The OIG recommended that CMS resolve improper Part D payments made for drugs provided to unlawfully-present beneficiaries and take steps to develop and implement controls to prevent inappropriate payments in the future.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
