DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. has been subpoenaed by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, in connection with how the
company codes diagnoses for Medicare Advantage patients.
In a regulatory filling, the Denver-based company said the
subpoena covers the period from Jan. 1, 2008, through the present
and seeks documents from the company and its subsidiaries. DaVita
specializes in kidney care and is one of the largest U.S. providers
of dialysis services.
The company said it believes the HHS request "is part of a
broader industry investigation into Medicare Advantage patient
diagnosis coding and risk adjustment practices and potential
overpayments by the government."
Some of the information requested relates to a potentially
improper HealthCare Partners coding practice related to a
particular condition, DaVita said. The company acquired HCP for
about $4.4 billion in 2012, at which time the particular coding
practice was discontinued and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services was notified about potential overpayments,
according to DaVita.
The company disclosed the issue in May. In its latest quarter,
DaVita generated about 20% of its dialysis and related lab services
revenues from patients who have state Medicaid or other
government-based programs.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
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