An earlier audit report indicated that unsuitable payments by Medicare for additional hematology indices were a by-product of automated results provided by hematology profile tests, which calculate and measure all indices at the same time. HCFA agreed that these codes were not valid for Medicare reimbursement and removed the codes from Medicare fee schedules as of January 1999. OAS has recommended that HCFA direct fiscal intermediaries to recover the overpayments made to providers. HCFA concurred with the recommendation.
Support grows for safety needles.
The Senate adopted two needlestick amendments to the Labor Department s 2001 spending bill. The clearinghouse would collect data on safe needle technology and establish a system for collecting data on needlestick injuries. The second amendment states that legislation is needed that would eliminate or minimize significant risk of needlestick injury to healthcare workers. Both amendments were adopted by unanimous consent, but neither provision is in the House version of the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services spending bill. In other moves, Ohio became the 15th state to pass safety needle legislation.