On March 13, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) concurrently issued Ruling CMS-1455-NR (the “Ruling”) and a proposed rule for revising Medicare Part B billing policies in the event of Part A payment denials (the “Proposed Rule”). BACKGROUND Since the conclusion of the Recovery Audit Contractor (“RAC”)…
Health Law Attorney Blog
CMS Updates Manual Regarding Payment for Medical or Surgical Services Furnished by CRNAs
On March 8, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued Transmittal 2668 (Change Request 8180) to Publication 100-04 (Medicare Claims Processing), rescinding and replacing Transmittal 2634 (January 11, 2013). Transmittal 2634 provided clarifications in the manual language to reflect revisions to 42 C.F.R. § 410.69. The newly-released…
HHS Slightly Increases Interest Rate on Overpayment Debts/Underpayments Owed Providers
The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS” or the “Department”) has marginally raised the interest rate on overpayment debts owed to the Department. HHS published notice of the newly certified interest rate for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 in the Federal Register on March 5, 2013. The new…
Abby Pendleton, Esq to Speak at The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting
Abby Pendleton, Esq. will be co-speaking with Jack Bert, M.D. and Ranjan Sachdev, M.D. MBA, CHC on March 19, 2013 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Chicago. They will be presenting on the topic “Compliance 2013- What You Need to Know”. For more information, please contact…
Highlights From Leon Rodriguez, Executive Director of OCR’s, Speech at ABA’s EMI Conference in Miami
To view this article, please click here. For more information, please contact Adrienne Dresevic, Esq. or Clinton Mikel, Esq. at (248) 996-8510 or visit The HLP Webiste.
OIG Report Discusses Inadequacy of CMS’ Collection of Medicaid Overpayments
On February 19, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) published OIG Report A-05-11-00071 (the “Report”), detailing the results of an audit to determine the adequacy of CMS’ collection of Medicaid overpayments identified in certain OIG audit reports. Under federal regulations (specifically 42…
Michigan Pharmacist Sentenced to 17 years for Medicare Fraud
On February 1, 2013, 50-year-old Canton pharmacist, BABUBHAI “Bob” PATEL, was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for his 26 convictions for health care fraud conspiracy, drug conspiracy, and related fraud and drug violations. During his 6-week trial which ended in August 2012, Mr. Patel’s pharmacies were found to…
New Jersey Hospital Settles Anti-Kickback Qui Tam Case for $12.5 Million; Case Alleged Cardiologists Were Compensated $18,000 Per Year to Serve on Advisory Board That Was Actually Tied to Patient Referrals
On January 24, 2013, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the State of New Jersey unsealed a $12.5 Million Dollar settlement with Cooper Health System, headquartered in the Camden, New Jersey area, but serving regions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The settlement was the result of cardiologist Nicholas DePace’s whistleblower…
Michigan Podiatrist Sentenced to over 4.5 years for Medicare Fraud
On January 15, 2013, Richard Behnan, DPM., a 56 year old podiatrist from Fenton, MI was sentenced by a federal judge to 55 months in prison and ordered to pay over $1.4 million in restitution to Medicare and nearly $200,000 to BCBSM for his participation in a $1.6 million fraudulent…
The Office for Civil Rights has just released the long awaited HIPAA “Omnibus Rules”
Stay tuned for many further developments – The Health Law Partners will be providing numerous valuable educational resources for its clients. The announcement and links are below. January 17, 2013 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a new rule to strengthen the privacy and security…