The Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated on February 26, 2021 that “ (it) is conducting significant oversight work assessing telehealth services during the public health emergency.” The goal of these reviews is to ensure “telehealth delivers quality, convenient care for patients and is not compromised by fraud.” To date, there are 7 known national audits, evaluations, and inspections of telemedicine services under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. They are listed below:
- Audit of Home Health Services Provided as Telehealth During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
- Audits of Medicare Part B Telehealth Services During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
- Home Health Agencies’ Challenges and Strategies in Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Medicare Telehealth Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Program Integrity Risks.
- Use of Medicare Telehealth Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Medicaid: Telehealth Expansion During COVID-19 Emergency.
- Use of Telehealth to Provide Behavioral Health Services in Medicaid Managed Care.
The Pandemic triggered rapid growth in telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, and other virtual care services for many healthcare providers(HCP’s). Furthermore a 2018 audit of a random sampling of telemedicine billing to Medicare resulted in a 31% error rate. Therefore, we are likely looking at billions of dollars of prior billing that will be reviewed. ### Media Note: For more information, please contact Tina Fleming at 248/613-3898 or tina@uncagedcommunications.com.
