CMS gives Tricenturion $44 million contract

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - CMS has awarded Tricenturion a five-year $44 million contract to perform fraud investigation work for the states of Florida and Connecticut. Beginning Jan. 1, 2003, Tricenturion will perform benefit integrity functions for Medicare Part A in Florida and Medicare Part B in Florida and Connecticut. Tricenturion is also the regional durable medical equipment program safeguard contractor for 10 northeastern states. California ordered to pay for chairlifts OAKLAND, Calif. - An appeals court in California concluded recently that the state's Medicaid program wrongly excluded stairway chairlifts from the scope of home health coverage for the medically indigent, reversing a superior court's decision that upheld the restriction. The court said stairway chairlifts must be covered under the state's Medi-Cal program because they constitute durable medical equipment. The court said that a chairlift is DME because much like a wheelchair, a chairlift restores mobility lost as a result of a medical condition or disability, enabling a person to reside at home rather than in an institution. Fred Ford faces jail time TAMPA, Fla. - Fred Ford has seen better days. The former HME salesman pleaded guilty to four counts of fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid billing. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. One set of charges against Ford related to his role as a salesman for a group of companies commonly known as Gold Star, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A second set of charges relate to his role of a salesman for a for Priority Oxygen and Medical Equipment, in St. Petersburg, Fla., the DOJ reported.