PALMS Medical Transport Agreed to Pay $420,000 for Allegedly Violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law by Submitting Claims for One-Way Specialty Care Transport with an Improper Destination Facility

PALMS Medical Transport, L.L.C. (PALMS), Georgia, agreed to pay $420,000 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. OIG alleged that PALMS submitted ambulance transport claims for Medicare beneficiaries using HCPCS billing code A0434 for one-way Specialty Care Transport (SCT) from a skilled nursing facility or residence to a non-hospital based End Stage Renal Disease entity. OIG contends that these transports did not qualify as SCT because: (1) non-hospitals-based dialysis facilities are not considered "facilities" for the purposes of SCT, and (2) PALMS did not provide medically necessary supplies and services at a level beyond the scope of the EMT-Paramedic.

Share