In an alert issued on June 22, the Office of
Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services clearly announced its increased enforcement focus on
physicians who have improper arrangements with home health
agencies.
The OIG's alert warns home health agencies and physicians about
potential kickback violations tied to physician compensation
agreements, noting that compensation agreements could violate the
federal anti-kickback statute if "even one purpose of the
arrangement is to compensate a physician for his or her past
or future referrals of Federal health care program business."
Federal programs include Medicare and Medicaid, among
others.
Other problematic areas identified by the OIG in the alert include
falsely certifying patients as homebound, and billing for medical
unnecessary services or services that were not rendered (such as
physician home visits). Any physician who has a compensation
arrangement with a home health agency would be well advised to have
the agreement reviewed for legal compliance.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
