OIG Work Plan 2013 – Medical Equipment and Supplies

If you are not aware, every year the OIG ( Office of Inspector General) produces a report on what they plan to audit and review for the upcoming year. The new report does not take past items of interest off the table.

Here are some highlights for medical equipment suppliers:
1. They will review Accreditation Organization and their process for approving providers.
2. Service code modifier KX indicates the patient meets the medical criteria and upon request their is information that supports the medical need of the patient. In audits, they have found that providers have little to no documentation to support medical need. Make sure you read the medical records you obtain from physicians ordering services to ensure they include documentation that supports services you have provided.
3. In audits of lower limb prostheses, they have found in 267 providers audited no history of the patient having a lower limb amputation. I would recommend if you are providing prostheses, you obtain where the amputation was done. Medicare may not have documentation because it was not paid for by Medicare or change of physicians.
4. It appears they will be looking at reimbursement for several items and comparing it to other payor sources to see if they can reduce their reimbursement or frequency for items such as erect aids, back orthoses, parenteral nutrition, and CPAP (frequency).
5. Diabetic supplies will be reviewed for: a) see if medical records corroborate the IDDM as compared to NIDDM (making sure IDDM isn’t submitted just to bill for more supplies), b) multiple supplies, c) make sure supplies are not auto shipped, d) patients requests refill, e) the quantity of supplies left is documented at the time of request for refill, f) compares supplies provided to the competitive bid areas, g) see if “non-mail” order supplies were actually mailed, if they are in competitive bid areas, and h) IF supplies are mailed but KL not applies to indicate so the provider receives a higher rate of reimbursement.

If you have not started your compliance program audit and risk assessment protocol, these are some key areas to look at to reduce your business risk. Ask physicians to provide copies of medical records at the time of the order.

Remember, to look at the OIG Work Plan from 2012.  I outlined hightlights last year that you really need to review if you did not and continue to include those moving forward.

You may find the the OIG Work Plan details at https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/workplan/index.asp and see Medicare Part I for Parts A & B.

Angela Miller of Medical Auditing Solutions LLC has been in health care compliance, auditing, billing, collections and HIPAA for over 18 years.  Ms. Miller is Certified in Healthcare Compliance.  Ms. Miller has made it the  focus of the business to help providers run their businesses efficiently, collect money, and maintain compliance with federal and state regulations and coverage criteria through compliance program development, management and training.  Ms. Miller is very experienced with Medicare & Payer audits.  Ms. Miller ran a very successful compliance program for over 5 years for the largest private held HME/Pharmacy provider in the US at the time.  Ms. Miller  also works as a contract compliance officer to provide an avenue to compliance training to staff, implementation of policies, as well as handling anything that affects cash flow from the initial intake to back-end collections. You can visit our website at Medical Auditing Solutions LLC.

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PRESS RELEASE: KYMESA Announces Partnership with Medical Auditing Solutions LLC

Medical Auditing Solutions LLC (“MAS”) is excited to announce its partnership with Kentucky Medical Equipment Suppliers Association (“KYMESA”).   KYMESA has selected MAS to be their preferred vendor for Healthcare Compliance, HIPAA,  and Billing Analysis Programs.

Angela Miller is the founding owner of MAS a company specializing in Healthcare compliance & HIPAA privacy program development and training, billing analysis, and cash flow management.  Ms. Miller spent 12 years in HME starting here in Kentucky where she grew up and her family continues to reside.  She prior experience  as a compliance officer where she managed a very proactive successful program for 5 years.

MAS just released MAS Compliance University which has 4 e-learning programs currently with 3 more to be uploaded for compliance and HIPAA privacy training.  These programs have a pretest, required one hour program, required test and evaluation all of which are tracked and can be exported to excel for client records.  MAS also provides billing compliance audits which not only keeps you in compliance with the coverage criteria but will help improve the overall efficiency of the business processes as she understands the importance of running lean with the reimbursement cuts and competitive bidding on the table.

Don’t forget a formal compliance program is required to be in place by 2013.  If you are not doing annual HIPAA privacy training and don’t have security policies, this is required.

You may contact Kentucky Medical Equipment Suppliers Association about their membership benefits and how they work on the state and federal level:

KYMESA

#394, 1303 US 127 S

Suite 402

Frankfort, KY 40601
Cell (407) 435-2667
Fax (502) 416-0328

Teresa Camfield, Director

Angela Miller of Medical Auditing Solutions LLC has been in health care compliance, auditing, billing, collections and HIPAA for over 18 years.  Ms. Miller has made it the  focus of the business to help providers run their businesses efficiently, collect money, and maintain compliance with federal and state regulations and coverage criteria through compliance program development, management and training.  Ms. Miller is very experienced with Medicare & Payer audits.  Ms. Miller ran a very successful compliance program for over 5 years for the largest private held HME/Pharmacy provider in the US at the time.  Ms. Miller  also works as a contract compliance officer to provide an avenue to compliance training to staff, implementation of policies, as well as handling anything that affects cash flow from the initial intake to back-end collections. You can visit our website at Medical Auditing Solutions LLC.