Home Health Agency Excluded for Employing Excluded Nurse
HHS/OIG recently issued a press release announcing that it had excluded an Illinois home health agency participation in all Federal health programs as a result of its employment of an excluded nurse. OIG’s investigation revealed that the home care service had billed the Federal health care programs for services provided by the excluded nurse to both Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
An Unprecedented Move by HHS/OIG
As far as we can tell, this is the first time that this has been the basis of an exclusion, and it further evidences the ongoing enforcement interest that the OIG has in exclusion violations. The exclusion became effective March 19, 2015, and participation in Federal health care programs for a period of three years. It is also worthy of note that the OIG staffed the case with two Senior Counsels and a Paralegal Specialist, Eula Taylor.
Are you taking the necessary precautions to ensure you are not working with an excluded entity? We know it can be difficult to screen every Federal and State exclusion list. Call Exclusion Screening at 1-800-294-0952 or fill out the form below to hear about our cost-effective solution and for a free quote and assessment of your needs.
Paul Weidenfeld, Co-Founder and CEO of Exclusion Screening, LLC, is the author of this article. He is a longtime health care lawyer whose practice has focused on False Claims Act cases and health care fraud matters generally. Contact Paul should you have any questions at: pweidenfeld@exclusionscreening.com or 1-800-294-0952.