948. Which of the following statement(s) is (are)
accurate?
(1) Voluntary disclosure program offers immunity
to providers who come forward within
30 days of discovering an offence
(2) Providers must always repay all Medicare
overpayments within 30 days
(3) Health care providers in medically underserved
areas (MUAs) may automatically
waive coinsurance and deductible payments
(4) Before the OIG issues a demand letter in a
civil money penalty case, the government
must have legally sufficient evidence for
eight elements of civil monetary penalties
offense
948. (D)
1. The voluntary disclosure program is
designed to allow providers and others to
come forward and admit health care fraud
in exchange for the possibility of lenient
treatment from the federal government.
Providers already under investigation for
fraud can also come forward to volunteer
information. Making full disclosure to the
investigative agency at an early stage generally
benefits the individual or company,
but there is no limit as to 30 days.
2. Normally, Medicare expects overpayments
to be paid back in 30 days after the first
demand letter. But if a lump sum refund
would cause severe financial hardship, a
provider can apply for an extended repayment
plan (either through direct payments
or deductions from the provider’s future
payments). For part B providers, here are
the deadlines a provider may face for making
payments (MCM 7160) (MIM 2224):
• $5000 or less within 2 months
• $5001 to $25,000 within 3 months
• $25,001 to $100,000 within 4 months
• $100,001 and above within 6 months
3. Regardless of their location, doctors, DME
suppliers and other part B billers must make
a good faith effort to collect the deductible
and coinsurance payments owed by their
Medicare patients—or face reimbursement
cuts from CMS and possible Medicare suspension
or exclusion. OIG sent out a fraud
alert in 1990 targeting physicians and other
suppliers who inappropriately waive copayments
or deductibles.
The government also could hold a
provider liable under the antikickback statute
because routinely forgiving co-payments or
deductibles may be considered an improper
inducement for patients to buy Medicare
items or services. Government penalties for
illegal waivers can include imprisonment,
criminal fines, civil damages and forfeitures,
fines and exclusion from Medicare and
Medicaid.
Typically, if providers make a reasonable
collection effort for coinsurance or
deductibles, failure to collect payment isn’t
considered a reason for the carrier to reduce
the charge or refer the provider to OIG or the
Justice Department. A“reasonable collection
effort” is one that is consistent with the effort
a doctor’s office typically makes to collect
co-payments and deductibles. It must
involve billing the patient and may include
subsequent billings, collection letters, telephone
calls or personal contacts, depending
on the provider’s usual practice. These
efforts must be genuine, not token, collection
efforts. A provider should check to see
whether its local carrier or intermediary has
defined a fair effort to collect, for instance,
three bills in 120 days.
4. The OIG has identified eight elements of a
civil money penalties offense:
• Any person
• Presents or causes to be presented
• To the United States or an agent of the
United States
• A Claim
• For an item or service
• Not provided as claimed
• Which the person knows or has reason to
know was not provided as claimed
• Materiality