A final rule establishing the temporary certification program for electronic health record (“EHR”) technology was released today by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”). As explained by the HHS press release and in a previous HLP blog about the proposed rule, the HITECH Act of 2009 established incentives for providers […]
The New York State Legislature has approved about $775 million in spending cuts for healthcare as part of a budget “extender” package on June 7, 2010. The legislation, in addition to requiring the State to save $300 million in Medicaid fraud costs, also presents considerable financial challenges for healthcare providers in the state. Facilities across […]
In President Obama’s weekly national address on Saturday, Mr. Obama called for Congress to quickly take action to ensure that a planned 21 percent decline in Medicare reimbursement for physicians, which is set to take effect this week, is averted. Proposals to address this draconian cut for doctors who see Medicare patients have been stalled […]
In Notice 2010-44, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) outlined the tax credit for employee health insurance expenses available to certain small businesses under Section 45R of the Internal Revenue Code. Effective for taxable years beginning in 2010, the 45R credit is available to an employer when (1) the employer has fewer than twenty-five full-time equivalent […]
On June 9, 2010, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report regarding inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) payments made in 2006 and 2007. According to this report, over half of the claims reviewed (i.e., 113 out of 200 claims) resulted in overpayments, because the providers failed to submit patient assessment instruments within the requisite […]
At this juncture, healthcare providers, to a greater or lesser extent, have begun to acquire at least a basic understanding of the recent federal health reform legislation, commonly known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). At the same time, many in the provider community are looking beyond the contours of the PPACA, […]
In a not surprising turn of events, days before the June 1st deadline, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it is again delaying the enforcement of the identity theft regulations through December 31, 2010. This latest delay came at the request of certain members of Congress while Congress considers legislation that would affect the […]
On May 7, 2010, CMS promulgated Transmittal 697 to align the requirements governing the timely filing limits (for submitting claims for Medicare Fee-for-Service (“FFS”) reimbursement) with the requirements set forth in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “PPACA”). By way of background, a service provider or supplier formerly had been required to submit […]
As reported in the May 14th HLP blog, the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC) Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2009, which reflects that $2.51 billion was deposited to the Medicare Trust Fund in 2009, as a result of more […]
This month, the Office of Inspector General published its report of the activities and results of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program for 2009. A few highlights from the report include: 1014 new criminal health care investigations opened, 583 fraud-related convictions concluded, and Continue Reading →
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