In possibly the largest overpayment finding ever in a Medicare provider compliance audit, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) said Vitas Healthcare Corporation of Florida was overpaid $140 million.[1]
OIG audited a stratified random sample of 100 claims submitted between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2019, with clinical documentation reviewed by an independent medical review contractor. The findings: 89 claims didn’t comply with Medicare requirements, OIG said. For 68 claims, the clinical record lacked support for the continuous home care (CHC) level of hospice care; 28 claims lacked support for general inpatient care (GIP) for hospice patients; and 23 claims for CHC weren’t documented or supported in the patient’s clinical record, according to the audit report.