LTC Matters: Government Investigations- Are You Prepared?
4/1/2002
Long term care providers have awakened to the perils of civil, criminal, and administrative investigations, and statistics show that the effects of such investigations are having a significant impact on the industry itself. As federal and state agencies have worked toward combining their enforcement efforts, scrutiny of the quality of care provided by long term care providers has steadily increased. At an annual symposium hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services' OIG in February, state and federal agencies again met to share information and to discuss ways they may cooperate to enhance enforcement efforts aimed at long term care providers, especially nursing homes. In light of this increased emphasis on enforcing compliance at both the state and federal level, this article focuses on how long term care providers should prepare for government enforcement actions and, if targeted, what the appropriate steps are to take.
