Compliance

Ethics, Honesty and Patient Confidentiality

Associates Home Care, Inc. is committed to providing home support and personal care services in accordance with established professional and ethical standards. It is imperative that all employees and staff comply with all relevant laws, regulations and standards that relate to the work we do.

Our many policies and procedures have been designed to help us accomplish this goal. We also have a Compliance Program to help assure that the organization and its employees uphold this commitment as they perform their work each and every day.

Client Rights

Associates Home Care, Inc. respects our client's right to have their personal health information maintained in a confidential manner. Our Notice of Privacy Practices describes these rights and provides information to clients as to how they may report concerns regarding concerns. This form can be obtained by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

Employee Responsibilities

All employees are expected to:

Comply with and perform their jobs in accordance with the laws, regulations and standards which govern our work
Promptly report any observed or suspected activity which may violate any law or regulation to their supervisor, the Compliance Officer, Director of Corporate Compliance or the CEO
Help deter and detect any and all compliance violations which they believe may harm the clients we serve, expose the company to civil or criminal liability, damage its financial status and business relationships or harm its reputation

Field Staff

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Have questions or wish to report an incident?

To report a compliance concern or to ask a question regarding and policy or practice, please immediately:

Call the Director of Human Resources and Compliance at 267-525-7000 ext 2124
Call the confidential voicemail of the Compliance Officer at 267-525-7008
Place your written concern in the box available at our office
Mail your written concern or observation to the Compliance Officer at Associates Home Care, Inc., 800 Clarmont Avenue, Suite B , Bensalem, PA 19020

We encourage, and require, that you communicate all observed or suspected compliance violations as described above. Your comments will be kept confidential as provided by law and you are protected form any retaliation by the company for reporting in good faith any observed or suspected violation(s).

Compliance Guidelines
Office and Billing Staff

To assure that the company submits claims for payment only for services that have been provided in accordance with our policies, federal law and the regulations established by third party payers, the following guidelines have been instituted for our office and reimbursement staff;

Our practice is to require that our client or their representative sign a time sheet, visit validation form or activity log after services are provided for the day or week.
To ensure that the times and dates of service match what is being processed for reimbursement in accordance with the client's schedule, you must check all time sheets, visit validation forms, activity logs and therapy notes to be sure they accurately correlate and are properly signed.
Do not process payroll or submit claims if records are not completed. Should a record or time slip not be signed, please check with your supervisor. It will be necessary to contact the client or their representative to verify that services were rendered.
Be certain that all services that are billed have been properly authorized.
Never submit claims for services that have not been properly authorized or are not contained in the client's Plan of Care.
When you submit payroll , you are certifying that the schedule is accurate and the schedule has been confirmed via time sheet, therapy note, visit validation form or activity log.
Federal and State False Claims Laws were implemented to reduce fraud and abuse of government healthcare programs. Fraud is defined as the intentional deception or misrepresentation of information that the individual knows to be false and results in an unauthorized benefit. Abuse is practices which are not consistent with sound business or professional practices.

Consequences following proven violations of The False Claims Act include sanctions against the company and/or the individual employee who caused the false claim event. These may include monetary penalties, exclusion from participation in Medicare or Medicaid programs and possibly imprisonment. Monetary penalties may range from $5,500 to $11,000 per false claim or may be up to three times the value of the billed amount.

The False Claims Act encourages reporting any false claims and prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee who reports a false claim to federal authorities or participates in the prosecution of a provider accused of making a false claim.

The company's goal is to submit accurate claims for services which were appropriately documented and provided. Should the company receive an overpayment or receive payment for a service not provided, it is our practice to take prompt corrective action and refund any monies improperly received.

If you have concerns about your own actions, the actions of a co-worker or the actions of the company, we encourage and require that your report this concern to either your immediate supervisor, the Director of Human Resources and Compliance at 267-525-7000 ext 2124 or to the Confidential Voice Mail of the Compliance Officer at 267-525-7008.