As a condition of Medicare coverage for power mobility devices (PMDs), a physician must conduct and document a face-to-face examination of the beneficiary and write a prescription for the PMD. CMS established an optional Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, G0372, for a physician to report the need for a PMD. Based on a review of a limited sample of claims (200 total), the OIG determined that while PMD claims with a corresponding physician G-code claim generally conformed with requirements for face-to-face examinations of beneficiaries, almost half of the 100 PMD claims without a corresponding physician G-code claim did not meet the face-to-face examination requirement. On the basis of its sample results, the OIG estimates that Medicare paid approximately $35.2 million in 2010 for PMD claims that did not meet federal requirements. The OIG recommends that CMS, among other things, adjust the sampled claims representing overpayments to the extent allowable; require physicians to use the G0372 code when prescribing PMDs; and educate physicians on the use of the G0372 code and the documentation requirements for face-to-face examinations. The report, "Medicare Paid Suppliers for Power Mobility Device Claims That Did Not Meet Federal Requirements for Physicians' Face-to-Face Examinations of Beneficiaries," is available at http://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region9/91202068.pdf
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