Report Finds Improved Mental Health Billing
Ventura County is doing a better job of billing the federal government for mental health services, a grand jury report has found.
The county agreed in 1999 to repay the federal government $15.3 million for years of erroneous Medicare billing. Some mental health workers had submitted billing without the direct involvement of a psychiatrist, a violation of rules.
In the past two years, however, the county has instituted a number of reforms aimed at improving compliance, including auditing charts at twice the industry standard.
Staffing continues to be a problem, the report says, with vacancies remaining open for long periods.
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