From the medicine cabinet to the street. 33 people have been charged so far as Buffalo, NY investigators devote increasingly greater resources toward an emerging class of suppliers in the illicit drug trade: medical patients, including many who rely on Medicaid to fund their prescriptions. Often at no charge, patients…
On December 7, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas refused to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) claims against a hospice provider. The defendant, Hospice Care of Kansas, Inc. (HCK), which was purchased by defendant Voyager Hospicecare, Inc. in 2004, provides hospice care to Medicare beneficiaries. The…
December 1st was slated to be a bad day for physicians–it was the day the 23% Medicare pay cuts were going into effect. Today, Congress agreed to a one month delay in the cuts, which will go into effect on January 1, 2011. For more information, please contact the Health…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has officially requested comments from the physician community regarding policies and standards for accountable care organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare program under the Shared Savings Program or in connection with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). CMS’s request focuses…
Effective January 1, 2011, the new Stark In-Office Ancillary Services Exception (the “IOASE”) provisions will require physicians or group practices relying upon the IOASE (collectively, “Physician Practices”) to furnish the following notice/disclosure to patients receiving MRI, CT, and PET (as identified on the Stark CPT/HCPCS Code list): • Written notice…
For the fourth time this year, the Senate approved a one-month patch that will delay a 23% cut in Medicare payments to physicians until January 1, 2011. The action, passed on Thursday, November 18, is a result of an agreement backed by chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus…
Representatives Dingell (D-Mich.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), and other representatives have introduced legislation to extend the current physician Medicare reimbursement rates for 13 months as well as to provide a 1% update for this year and next year. We will continue to keep our readers apprised of any future developments. For…
In its November 3, 2010 release of the final 2011 Home Health Prospective Payment System (“2011 HHPPS”), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) updated its hospice recertification requirement. Beginning January 1, 2011, the Affordable Care Act requires that physicians and non-physician practitioners attest to a beneficiary’s recertification for…
On November 3, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (“CMS”) posted its final 2011 Home Health Prospective Payment System (“2011 HHPPS” or the “Final Rule”). According to CMS, “this final rule reflects CMS’ ongoing efforts to improve quality of care provided by home health agencies to Medicare beneficiaries.…
Following The HLP’s submission of numerous written inquiries and phone calls to representatives of CMS, National Government Services, Inc. (“NGS”) (the Medicare Affiliated Contractor), and CGI (the Medicare RAC for Region B), on November 8, 2010, CMS published a response to Frequently Asked Questions related to RAC reviews of Periodic…