New Red Book outlines OIG’s unfinished business
New Red Book outlines OIG’s unfinished business
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) says adjusting the managed care capitation rate to the lower limit of improper payments to health care providers would reap Medicare a tidy $35 billion in savings over the next five years. That was one of the big-ticket items included in the OIG’s latest version of the Red Book, which highlights the government’s unfinished business in the area of health care it says could be remedied through legislative, regulatory, or administrative action.
The 71-page document outlines 60 items that HCFA, and in some cases other agencies, can turn to as cost-savers. All of the items included in this year’s Red Book are areas the OIG has previously investigated, according to OIG spokeswoman Judy Holtz. In some cases such as hospice, these investigations were prompted by concern about fraud. "But for the most part it addresses monetary findings from audits and investigations," says Holtz.
While nobody believes that inclusion in the Red Book means an item is high on the OIG’s target list, its appearance year after year can lend legitimacy to the central contention being made.
(Editor’s note: For a copy of the Red Book, go to the OIG’s Web site at www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oig/. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader software to access the document.)
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