The Nevada Health Authority is announcing a temporary pause on the issuance of new state licensure for hospice and home health over fraud concerns.
A moratorium will also be in place for new enrollments for Nevada Medicaid until state officials validate and confirm the legitimacy of current providers.
Nevada Medicaid is allowing some new providers to apply for an exemption to the moratorium if it will support improved access to hospice and home-health services in Nevada’s rural and underserved communities.
Once it gets federal approval; the moratorium will be in effect for at least six months.
The Nevada Health Authority says during that time, state staff will be conducting extensive onsite reviews of all Medicaid-enrolled hospice and home-health providers to identify any instances of potential Medicaid billing and payment fraud.
“This temporary pause across state licensing and Medicaid is necessary to allow us time to get a handle on Medicaid billing fraud in Nevada for these important services,” said Ann Jensen, Nevada Medicaid Director. “Without it, we will continue to lose out on the time needed to stop millions in scarce public resources from being stolen from bad actors who are posing as legitimate, licensed hospice and home health providers.”
(Nevada Health Authority contributed to this report.)
