Office Of Inspector General

Eliminating Medicare and Medicaid fraud should be a priority for the Department of Health and Human Services as it works to implement healthcare reform programs, according to a new report.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General would like to see a national drug pricing benchmark. In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the IG said the move save on Medicaid reimbursement costs paid to pharmacies. The letter said most states use a "fundamentally flawed" method to calculate such payments. The report said CMS is in agreement and is taking steps to provide guidance to states on this issue.

Inpatient rehab facilities received an estimated $34 million in overpayments from Medicare between 2004 and 2007, according to a report from the Office of Inspector General. This has prompted a review by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services has released a report highlighting recommendations, including some that could affect nursing homes.

A growing number of Medicare beneficiaries are receiving hospice care in nursing facilities. But most of these services do not meet Medicare requirements. That is according to two reports from the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.

About 86% of Medicare claims for certain support surfaces used to treat and prevent pressure ulcers did not meet coverage criteria in the first half of 2007. That resulted in millions of dollars in overpayments during that period, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.