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Home Health & Hospice Week

Fraud & Abuse:

New DME Fraud Pilot May Be Model For HHAs

Published on Tue May 17, 2011

DME suppliers to voluntarily take part in card swipe fraud-fighting initiative. One Medicare contractor is taking on fraud in the home care arena with a new plan, but the pilot project could produce more hassles than benefits. Medicare Administrative Contractor National Government Services is initiating the "DMEPOS Card Swipe Pilot Program" in the Indianapolis area, it announces on its website. The pilot asks both physicians and durable medical equipment suppliers to voluntarily participate. How it works: When a physician orders DME for a patient, he will swipe a specially provided card in his already existing credit card terminal and enter the patient's HICN. Then when a supplier furnishes the DME, it will swipe its own card and enter the patient's HICN. NGS then will match up the transactions to determine whether the DME was ordered by a legitimate physician and furnished by a legit supplier, NGS says on its site. [...]
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