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OIG Adds Oxygen and Wheelchair Repairs to the Work Plan

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) added two new DMEPOS items to their Work Plan for October 2024. See below for details.  Medicare Payments to Suppliers for Oxygen and Oxygen Equipment Medicare covers reasonable and necessary durable medical...

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Billing: Maintain Clean Record

This post was originally featured in HME News. Q. Should I be performing regular audits of my provider enrollment record?   A. Short answer, yes! Providers should review, or audit, their Provider Enrollment Record at least annually. In...

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2024 Audit and Compliance Forecast

By Wayne van Halem, President, The van Halem Group What can you expect to see from an audit and compliance perspective in 2024? I think it’s going to be an interesting year. There are a number of things happening that could impact our clients....

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Audit Alert: SMRC adds lumbar-sacral orthoses to current projects list

Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC, (Noridian) as the Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is conducting post-payment review of claims for select Medicare Durable Medical Equipment (DME)...

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Audit Alert: UPICs focus on CGM and supplies

The van Halem Group has identified an increase in UPIC audit requests for CGM and supplies for both pandemic and current dates of service. The UPICs are auditing providers on both a prepayment and postpayment basis. CMS recently indicated that they wanted...

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RAC adds two new topics to CMS approved audits issues list

Performant, the national home health, hospice, and DMEPOS recovery audit contractor (RAC), added two new items to their CMS approved audit issues list. Both are identified as complex reviews, meaning providers that bill these services could be subject...

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Audit Forecast: Recent Publications and Activities Hint at Audit Increases Across Multiple Payers

By Wayne van Halem, President, The van Halem Group There are a number of signs that are pointing to an increase in audit activity across multiple payers as the public health emergency (PHE) winds down. These increases can be expected not just...

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CMS issues guidance on post PHE audits

The CMS Center for Program Integrity (CPI) posted an FAQ this week on their Spotlight page titled “Medicare Fee-for-Service Claims Review When the Public Health Emergency Ends”. From the post... Q. At the end of the Public Health Emergency...

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Heartland Sneak Peek: COVID Flexibilities Are Now Audit Opportunities

By Wayne van Halem, President, The van Halem Group One of the biggest uncertainties of moving into a post-pandemic world is how CMS will decide to audit claims submitted during the public health emergency. There were a number of “waivers”...

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The Return of the RACs

By Wayne H. van Halem, AHFI, CFE, President, The van Halem Group The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Program wreaked havoc in the DMEPOS industry from 2011 until about 2015 when they were essentially given free rein to audit DMEPOS claims. ...

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