OMAHA, NE – IntegriGuard, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:HMSY), today announced it has been awarded the prestigious Inspector General’s Integrity Award for helping to fulfill the mission of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to protect the integrity of federal funds originating from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
IntegriGuard’s Medicare Program Integrity team worked behind the scenes for more than six years providing thousands of hours of audit, investigation, medical review, and data analysis services. IntegriGuard’s efforts provided meaningful information to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the OIG, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and defense counsel that helped resolve a law enforcement investigation concerning an allegation that the Lester E. Cox Medical Center provided illegal kickbacks to a physicians’ group in exchange for patient referrals. The allegation was resolved through a July 2008 settlement under which Cox agreed to repay Medicare $60 million for payments that the medical center improperly claimed and received.
“As a leading provider of fraud, waste, and abuse oversight to our nation’s federal healthcare systems, IntegriGuard is well positioned to satisfy the federal government’s ongoing requests for assistance in investigating allegations of fraud,” said Michele Carpenter, Vice President and Managing Director for IntegriGuard. “Our professionals recognize the importance of protecting the Medicare Trust Fund. They work hard to maintain the excellent working relationship established with law enforcement to support their efforts to minimize improper payments within our healthcare systems.”
Since 2002, IntegriGuard has served the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Program Safeguard Contractor. As such, IntegriGuard is recognized as having the expertise and capabilities to perform program integrity work to protect the Medicare Trust Fund under the Medicare Integrity Program.
About IntegriGuard, LLC
IntegriGuard, LLC is an ISO-certified and URAC-accredited organization devoted to the prevention and detection of fraud, waste, and abuse in federal healthcare systems. IntegriGuard offers a suite of program integrity and payment accuracy solutions designed to detect fraud and improper payments. The company’s services include audit, compliance & education, data & analysis, eligibility verification, medical review, and investigation. In addition to being designed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as one of 12 Program Safeguard Contractors, and one of eight Medicare Proscription Drug Integrity Contractors, IntegriGuard is one of eight Qualified Independent Contractors for CMS.