Medicare Paid Hospitals $190 Million in Improper Hospice Claims

Acute care hospitals received over $190 million in improper Medicare payments for outpatient hospice services, government watchdogs say.

An audit report released Monday by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General sampled over $283.7 million in Medicare Part B payments for outpatient services furnished by acute care hospitals to hospice patients from 2017 through 2021. The audit found that 70 out of the 100 services sampled by the agency did not comply with federal requirements.

The OIG noted in the audit that payments were made to acute-care hospitals for palliative care that were “already covered ...