The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), responsible for administering the Medicare hospice benefit, has communicated plans to intensify scrutiny over hospice programs. This action follows growing apprehension around potential hospice service fraud. This information was obtained from a post published by Arnall Golden Gregory LLP.
Media reports, along with CMS’s own research, have pointed to irregularities, such as inappropriate patient certifications for hospice benefits, as well as insufficient provision of services to hospice beneficiaries. One of the key figures in this development is Dara Corrigan, the CMS deputy administrator, and director of the Center for Program Integrity.
- Greater scrutiny over hospice programs will be implemented and subsequently monitored.
- Patient certification irregularities, mainly pointed towards hospice benefit misuse, led to this intervention.
- A gap in services provision to hospice beneficiaries was identified.
This recent development potentially leads to a significant change in how CMS operations are conducted regarding hospice care. It is expected that these measures will serve to mitigate the issues related to hospice benefit fraud and enhance healthcare program integrity.