The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have partnered to eliminate instances in which both agencies are billed for the same health care episode.
According to a release, VA and CMS reviewed medical billings for the last six years for veterans enrolled in both VA health care and Medicare and found $106 million that was improperly spent on duplicate billings.
“The money we save as a result of this effort will be much better spent helping VA and Medicare beneficiaries get the benefits they’ve earned,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins in a statement.
VA and CMS will begin sending bills to overpaid providers to recover any improper payments this month.
Approximately 5.9 million veterans are dually enrolled in VA health care and Medicare. Both VA and CMS pay for a variety of medical care from third-party providers. Until now, VA and CMS have had no system in place to prevent double-billing.
“For too long, government programs have operated in silos, enabling improper payments to slip through the cracks at the expense of taxpayers,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz
A data-matching agreement established by VA and CMS will identify medical providers who have submitted claims for payment to both VA and Medicare, helping to eliminate overpayments and double-billing in the future, according to the release.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.