WASHINGTON, Mar 13, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A U.S. government agency says
fraud and abuse are partly responsible for a 44 percent increase in Medicare
spending on home health services between 2002-2006.
In a study issued Friday, the Government Accountability Office said some home
healthcare providers exaggerated patients' medical conditions while others
billed for unnecessary care or services they didn't provide, USA Today reported.
The fraud review was requested by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the top
Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.
"Every home healthcare dollar that's lost to fraud or improper payments is a
dollar that doesn't go to necessary care and a better quality of life for older
Americans," said Grassley.
Spending on home healthcare reached $13 billion in 2006 while the number of
Medicare patients using in-home services was 2.8 million.
The GAO recommends that the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services consider
doing criminal background checks on home health operators and draft new rules
aimed at removing problem providers quickly.
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