Homecare group offers its own anti-fraud bill

Hoping to stave off proposed Medicare reimbursement cuts to homecare equipment providers, the American Association for Homecare has developed its own anti-fraud legislation that it plans to present to Congress and CMS.

The group, which represents homecare DME suppliers, is recommending a comprehensive set of measures it says should remove the need for Medicare cuts. They include mandatory site inspections of all new medical-equipment providers, as well as companies seeking to renew their CMS contracts; setting new quality standards for providers; increasing penalties and fines for billing fraud; and requiring post-payment audit reviews of new medical-equipment contractors.

It's not clear, however, if the group's previously rocky relationship with CMS will dim prospects for its proposals. Last year, the trade group was party to lawsuits that opposed a Medicare program requiring competitive bidding for DEM, prosthetics and orthotics.

To learn more about the proposals:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1] (reg. req.)

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DME firms storm the Hill to protest CMS contracting program [3]
Competitive DME bidding could save CMS $1B [4]