In April 2009, the American Association for Homecare presented Congress with its 13-point legislative action plan, called the Medicare Anti-Fraud Legislative Plan, aimed at eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare’s home medical equipment sector.

The plan’s steps, according to the homecare association, would eliminate most of the Medicare fraud attributed to the home medical equipment sector by attacking the problem at the front of the process rather than relying on the “pay-and-chase” approach to stop fraud.  Included in the recommendations: mandate site inspections for all new home medical equipment providers and require site inspections for all home medical equipment provider renewals.

We applaud this Association for its efforts. Its members and taxpayers would be well served if some of the Plan is adopted by congress.

For more information on the American Association for Homecare’s plan, go to www.aahomecare.org/stopfraud. For a press release on the topic, go to http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-22-2009/0005011280&EDATE. And for more information about qui tam law and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.