By: Matthew Fischer
Medicare beneficiaries are generally entitled to coverage for care received by a home health agency. However, home health providers can expose themselves to large overpayment demands from Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPIC audit) if the face-to-face (FTF) encounter requirements for home health certification are not strictly followed. On an increasing basis, FTF encounters have been the target of ZPIC review. Providers view this position as an effort to use home health agencies to police the industry. On the other hand, contractors see this as part of their mission to identify cases of suspected fraud and recoup inappropriate payments. Thus, it is imperative that home health providers fully understand the requirements in order to withstand contractor scrutiny.Continue reading
