First, I am new here and really glad I found this forum. I have a complicated question and this is going to be long...bare with me.
I started a new job at the end of November of '07. I am a Respiratory Therapist with an Associates degree. I have always worked in a hospital in acute care, but decided to make a move to home care in the Home medical equipment business. Three weeks into my employment, my General manager that hired me was fired. Now, mind you...this is a LARGE nationwide company. He was fired after 25 years for low productivity, in other words, he wasn't bringing enough business to have high profits. Well, first off, this was really difficult for me being new to the home care business and I was lost. I slowly started to learn the ropes. Well, heres the thing. In home care, you cannot solicite Medicare or Medicaid patients with additional Durable medical equipment. The corporate guru's had been forcing us clinicians to work a list of current patients who were MEDICARE only to try to call them, dig for information like if they were having difficulty breathing and such, then if so, try to get orders from their doctors to have them tested to see if they need home oxygen. This practice is NOT aloud and I basically would not do it. Today they terminated my position and basically said that this may not be the line of work for me. I have made great relationships with the patients I have come into contact with and they liked me. I do good work and I am proud of my skills. I know that I am more than competent enough to do my job. I feel they terminated me because I would not do unethical things in order to conjure up more business. They were driving in our heads that the more home Oxygen patients we get, the bigger bonus we would get. Below is just a small exerp from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) website. This company is clearly violating these practices and they fired me for not doing it....please read below and let me know if you think I have something on them for this. It clearly states that you cannot solicite medicare or medicaid beneficiaries. Thanks for your time in reading this and your responses in advance.
Salespeople must not offer physicians, patients or other potential referral sources incentives, in cash or in kind, for their business.126 Similarly, they must not engage in any marketing activity that either explicitly or implicitly implies that Medicare beneficiaries are not obligated to pay their coinsurance or can receive ''free'' services.127 In addition, DMEPOS suppliers must not promote items or services to patients or physicians that are not reasonable or necessary for the treatment of the individual patient. The OIG suggests that the DMEPOS supplier's written policies and procedures create internal mechanisms to avoid these situations.
With respect to marketing and sales, the OIG has a longstanding concern that percentage compensation arrangements for sales and marketing personnel may increase the risk of such persons violating the anti-kickback statute.128 The OIG recommends that the DMEPOS supplier monitor its sales representatives on a regular basis (e.g., rotate sales staff or send a sales manager on some sales calls).
The DMEPOS suppliers are prohibited from making unsolicited telephone contacts to Medicare beneficiaries.129 We suggest that the DMEPOS supplier's written policies and procedures reflect this prohibition
I started a new job at the end of November of '07. I am a Respiratory Therapist with an Associates degree. I have always worked in a hospital in acute care, but decided to make a move to home care in the Home medical equipment business. Three weeks into my employment, my General manager that hired me was fired. Now, mind you...this is a LARGE nationwide company. He was fired after 25 years for low productivity, in other words, he wasn't bringing enough business to have high profits. Well, first off, this was really difficult for me being new to the home care business and I was lost. I slowly started to learn the ropes. Well, heres the thing. In home care, you cannot solicite Medicare or Medicaid patients with additional Durable medical equipment. The corporate guru's had been forcing us clinicians to work a list of current patients who were MEDICARE only to try to call them, dig for information like if they were having difficulty breathing and such, then if so, try to get orders from their doctors to have them tested to see if they need home oxygen. This practice is NOT aloud and I basically would not do it. Today they terminated my position and basically said that this may not be the line of work for me. I have made great relationships with the patients I have come into contact with and they liked me. I do good work and I am proud of my skills. I know that I am more than competent enough to do my job. I feel they terminated me because I would not do unethical things in order to conjure up more business. They were driving in our heads that the more home Oxygen patients we get, the bigger bonus we would get. Below is just a small exerp from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) website. This company is clearly violating these practices and they fired me for not doing it....please read below and let me know if you think I have something on them for this. It clearly states that you cannot solicite medicare or medicaid beneficiaries. Thanks for your time in reading this and your responses in advance.
Salespeople must not offer physicians, patients or other potential referral sources incentives, in cash or in kind, for their business.126 Similarly, they must not engage in any marketing activity that either explicitly or implicitly implies that Medicare beneficiaries are not obligated to pay their coinsurance or can receive ''free'' services.127 In addition, DMEPOS suppliers must not promote items or services to patients or physicians that are not reasonable or necessary for the treatment of the individual patient. The OIG suggests that the DMEPOS supplier's written policies and procedures create internal mechanisms to avoid these situations.
With respect to marketing and sales, the OIG has a longstanding concern that percentage compensation arrangements for sales and marketing personnel may increase the risk of such persons violating the anti-kickback statute.128 The OIG recommends that the DMEPOS supplier monitor its sales representatives on a regular basis (e.g., rotate sales staff or send a sales manager on some sales calls).
The DMEPOS suppliers are prohibited from making unsolicited telephone contacts to Medicare beneficiaries.129 We suggest that the DMEPOS supplier's written policies and procedures reflect this prohibition
