Fierce Healthcare February 25, 2021
Hospitals increased their Medicare billing for the most severe inpatient stays, sparking concerns from a federal watchdog that facilities could be improperly charging the federal government.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report Wednesday (PDF) that explored payments for severe inpatient stays from federal fiscal 2014 through 2019. The HHS watchdog found that stays at the highest severity level are susceptible to inappropriate billing practices such as upcoding.
“The pandemic has placed unprecedented stress on the country’s healthcare system, making it more important than ever to ensure that Medicare dollars are spent appropriately,” the report said.
The number of inpatient stays at the highest severity level increased almost 20% from 2014...
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