by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | Jun 20, 2025 | Admin, Legal
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Medical Directors: Monthly Stipends Not Allowed Monthly stipends to Medical Directors for referrals of patients could cost you. Earlier this month, a hospice provider in Georgia settled claims of violation of the federal Anti-Kickback...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | Jun 13, 2025 | Admin, Clinical, Home Health, Hospice
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. "Painting Pictures" of Patients Painting Pictures in clinical documentation to achieve positive audit results. As the fight against “fraud, abuse and waste” continues, responding to audits has become an ongoing burden for many providers....
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | May 29, 2025 | Clinical
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Elderspeak Providers have all heard baby talk. Baby talk is just one kind of elderspeak, i.e., changes in the way caregivers speak to patients, especially elders, regardless of the person’s ability to understand and respond. Elderspeak...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | May 16, 2025 | Admin, Regulatory
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Shoot the Messenger at Your Own Risk Shoot the messenger of fraud and abuse at your peril. Providers must take seriously the concerns of employees about possible fraudulent and abusive practices. Most whistleblowers take their concerns to...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | May 9, 2025 | Caring for the Caregiver, Clinical
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq., It's National Nurses Week! Home Care Nurses, it’s National Nurses Week, May 6 – May 12, 2025, so we are celebrating the profession of nursing! Home Health Nurses Have a Proud History Home care nurses have an especially proud...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | Apr 24, 2025 | Admin, Hospice, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Regulatory
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. No-no # 1 “No-No” may seem like something you would say to a toddler, but there is a list of things agency owners do that they should not do. Many of these are things providers may not often consider. This article focuses on the...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | Apr 11, 2025 | Admin, Audits, CMS, Medicare, Regulatory
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Relief for Providers from Devastating Penalties? A judge in the Northern District of Texas recently decided that even the minimum penalties mandated under the False Claims Act (FCA) violate the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | Mar 31, 2025 | Admin, Caring for the Caregiver, Clinical
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Gaslighting Gaslighting, According to: Nurse Professional Liability Exposure Claim Report: 4th Edition issued by Nurses Service Organization and CNA, for the period from 2016 to 2019 nurses who prvided services to patients in their homes;...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | Mar 21, 2025 | Admin, Caregiver Safety, Caring for the Caregiver, Clinical
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Violence Against Home Care Providers Continues Violence in Care at Home Continues… Sadly, but not surprisingly, the violence against field staff caring for patients in their homes continues. Here’s a recent example: On February 28,...
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. | Mar 13, 2025 | Admin, Clinical, Regulatory
by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Nursing Facility Compliance Guidance Takeaways for Hospices In November of 2024, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued revised “Nursing Facility Industry Segment-Specific Compliance...
