EHS Home Health Care Service, Inc., Billed for Home Health Services That Did Not Comply With Medicare Coverage and Payment Requirements

Under the home health prospective payment system (PPS), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pays home health agencies (HHAs) a standardized payment for each 60-day episode of care that a beneficiary receives. The PPS payment covers intermittent skilled nursing and home health aide visits, therapy (physical, occupational, and speech-language pathology), medical social services, and medical supplies. Our prior reviews of home health services identified significant overpayments to HHAs. These overpayments were largely the result of HHAs improperly billing for services to beneficiaries who were not confined to the home (homebound) or were not in need of skilled services. Our objective was to determine whether EHS Home Health Care Service, Inc. (EHS), complied with Medicare requirements for billing home health services on selected types of claims.