If not, you can face hefty fines and lawsuits from the federal government – just like UnitedHealth.
We can help your practice stay on top of the latest healthcare news, rules, regulations and trends. Subscribe to stay current and up to date on important matters that will impact your practice. (To subscribe to our blog click here).
UnitedHealth Group has come under fire again due to allegations of overcharging the federal government by over $1 billion.
This is the second recent lawsuit against the insurer by the federal government.
This time, the allegations are that the insurer overcharged under the Medicare Advantage plans.
The government alleges that UnitedHealth ignored findings from its own auditors and did not repay money when it found that it had overbilled the government.
How can you make sure this does not happen to your practice?
- Perform regular internal audits. Pay attention to the warnings and make sure to refund any overpayments. Then, learn from mistakes.
- Train your staff properly, if you bill in-house. Make sure that staff feel comfortable in approaching physicians or management if they find a problem in the coding.
- Have an outside audit performed regularly.
- Make sure no one in your practice is misdiagnosing patients to bill a higher rate.
- Have regular training sessions regarding billing and coding for the physicians in your office.
Follow the above tips to avoid overbilling and upcoding.
Make sure your employees and the physicians in your office are diligent when billing to ensure accuracy.
In our next blog post, we will keep you informed of related issues. To get this important information delivered directly to your mail box, click here to Subscribe.
Do you need help staying current and compliant with the latest laws, rules and regulations? We can help. To contact us about your new government rules and regulations, your practice’s risk assessment, or about your other legal needs: CLICK HERE.
P.S. If you or your patients are interested in consumer healthcare issues, check out myhealthspin.com.
