Home Health Leaders Applaud Bipartisan Lawmakers for Seeking Stronger Medicare Fraud-Prevention Programs

Program integrity reforms needed to safeguard seniors and generate taxpayer savings

News provided by

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare

Jun 16, 2015, 12:27 ET

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare – a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home healthcare for our nation's seniors – today commended bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives for issuing a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) urging them to study the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Fraud Prevention System (FPS), a program implemented to identify potential sources for Medicare fraud and abuse.

"We commend this bipartisan group of lawmakers for their leadership on this critical Medicare issue. We must ensure that programs designed to prevent wasteful and fraudulent spending are working," stated Eric Berger, CEO of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare. "As the Medicare population continues to grow, it is essential to strengthen the Medicare program for generations to come through targeted reforms that protect vulnerable seniors, healthcare providers and taxpayers."

The Partnership has put forth the Skilled Home Healthcare Integrity and Program Savings Act (SHHIPS) proposal, which would move Medicare away from the failed "pay and chase" model by preventing payment of aberrant claims, strengthening claims review processes, and implementing improved participation standards, including temporary entry limitations to prevent excess growth. SHHIPS also includes important credentialing requirements, criminal background checks, and a compliance program modeled on the Inspector General's guidelines.

The Partnership is also a member of Fight Fraud First!, a coalition formed to urge action to combat waste, fraud and abuse, rather than across-the-board cuts which impact innocent seniors and compliant providers.

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare was established to assist government officials in ensuring access to skilled home healthcare services for seniors and disabled Americans. Representing more than 2,000 community- and hospital-based home healthcare agencies across the U.S., the Partnership is dedicated to developing innovative reforms to improve the quality, efficiency and integrity of home healthcare. To learn more, visit www.homehealth4america.org. To join the home healthcare policy conversation, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and our blog.

SOURCE Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare