Hospice Audit Series

Audits are a fact of life for hospices—it’s not a matter of “if” a hospice will be audited, but “when.” The alphabet soup of audits has expanded, from UPICs to SMRCs, CPIs, TPEs and more. With the hospice carve-in to Medicare Advantage, MAO audits will join the list. The recent pause in audits as a result of the COVID pandemic hints at increased activity as the pandemic wanes. In this series, Meg Pekarske and Bryan Nowicki of Husch Blackwell’s Hospice Audit team deconstruct the most recent developments in hospice audits, providing insight and guidance on the why, when and how of audits and—most importantly—what hospices can do about it.

Today's Episode: Beyond Part D, OIG Scrutinizes the Hospice Industry to the Tune of $6.6 Billion

In a follow-up to its recent reports on billing outside the hospice benefit for drugs and durable medical equipment (DME), the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) new data report identifies billions being billed to Medicare Part A and B for hospice patients. What lies behind the headline? 

In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske, Andrew Brenton and Erin Burns unpack the OIG’s analysis and its critical shortcomings. They throw in some food for thought on what changes the industry might expect in light of the growing concerns related to the unbundling of care.