NCJ Number
76447
Date Published
1979
Length
85 pages
Annotation
These Senate hearings were conducted to examine the issue of abuse of the medicare home health program through fraudulent or padded charges made by some home health agencies.
Abstract
Testimony was presented by the Deputy Inspector General of the United States and the acting director of the Bureau of Quality Control of the Health Care Financing Administration (FCFA). In addition, the U.S. attorney from the southern district of Florida, the president of the Florida Association of Home Health Agencies (FAHHA), and the chairman of the Home Health Services Association (HHSA) also presented testimony. The Office of the Inspector General detailed components of Project Integrity III, a major investigative and audit initiative dealing with three classes of institutional health care providers -- moving homes, hospitals, and home health agencies. The HCFA plans to focus their review activity in Florida in two broad areas: utilization review (questioning the appropriateness of home health care being rendered and billed) and detailed audits of recent cost reports. The FAHHA outlined their efforts at the development of a code of ethics. The HHSA called for provisions for regional designation of local fiscal intermediaries as well as a single-nation intermediary of home health agencies, resulting in more uniform audit standards and reporting controls and enabling better investigations of cost reports. Appendixes contain correspondence related to the hearing, the FAHHA code of ethics, and statements submitted by the audience.