Health Law Attorney Blog

Published on: March 1, 2017 | by The Health Law Partners

New York’s Medicaid Program Re-issues Warning for Health Care Providers to Avoid “Percentage of Collection” Fee Agreements with Billing Companies, or Face Recoupment Proceedings

Recent letters from New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (“MFCU”) to those healthcare providers in New York State who have “percentage of collection” arrangements with their outside billing companies are demanding that such providers refund money paid to them by Medicaid based on MFCU’s determination that such billing arrangements are illegal under the Medicaid law […]

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Published on: January 3, 2017 | by The Health Law Partners

OIG Finalizes New Transportation Safe Harbor

On December 7, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released a final rule (“Final Rule”) codifying new safe harbors to the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and new exceptions to the beneficiary inducement provisions of the Civil Monetary Penalties law (“CMP”). The Final Rule will go into effect on January 6, […]

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Published on: December 9, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

ALJ Appeals Adjudication Backlog Update: AHA’s Lawsuit Decided in Favor of Appellants

Relief will (eventually) be granted to Medicare appellants. After a years-long battle, on December 5, 2016, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia granted mandamus relief to the American Hospital Association (“AHA”) and its co-plaintiffs. The Court requested that the parties propose actions the Secretary could take to address the backlog of pending […]

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Published on: December 8, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

OIG Issues Policy Statement Regarding Gifts of Nominal Value to Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries

The OIG issued a Policy Statement regarding Gifts of Nominal Value to Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries. Under section 1128A(a)(5) of the Social Security Act (the Act), enacted as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), a person who offers or transfers to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary any remuneration that […]

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Published on: November 11, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

OMIG Issues Guidance on Medicaid Compliance Requirements

The New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) issued guidance on its requirements for Medicaid compliance, effective October 26, 2016. This Compliance Program Review Guidance (“Guidance”) will assist the Medicaid Required Provider (“Required Provider”) community in developing and implementing compliance programs that meet the requirements of Social Services Law Section 363-d (“SSL […]

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Published on: November 2, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

Recovery Auditor (RAC) Contracts Awarded

Following a lengthy dispute process and significant delays, on October 31, 2016, CMS awarded new Medicare Fee-for-Service RAC contracts to the following contractors: Region 1 – Performant Recovery, Inc. Region 2 – Cotiviti, LLC Continue Reading →

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Published on: October 13, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

Concierge Medicine Model Expands In An Effort To Enable Private Practitioners To Remain Independent

Private practitioners who wish to remain independent, but who are struggling to survive because of decreased third-party reimbursements and increasing overhead expenses, are being aggressively courted by various business entities that will analyze-often for free-whether the concierge model of medicine, or some variation thereof, might add significant profitability to the practice’s bottom line. The earliest […]

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Published on: October 13, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

CMS Provides Physicians With Flexible New Options For “MACRA” Participation In 2017

Medicare has developed a new incentive payment framework (“MACRA”) which is intended to fundamentally change the way in which the Federal Government evaluates and pays for the healthcare services that are provided to Medicare beneficiaries. It is designed to move us away from a volume-based “fee-for-service” reimbursement system to one which emphasizes the quality of […]

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Published on: September 14, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

California Passes Bill as a Safeguard against Out-of-Network Medical Bills

The California state legislature passed a bill that will prevent unexpected out-of-network medical bills. The bill declares that patients who receive non-emergency care in in-network facilities would only have to pay in-network cost sharing. This would eliminate surprise billing from out-of-network claims. Suitable provider networks will also be more strictly demanded of health plans. A […]

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Published on: September 14, 2016 | by The Health Law Partners

U.S. Senate Committee Considering Reform of Stark Law

The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance released a whitepaper, which addresses proposed reforms of the Stark law (which prohibits physicians from referring Medicare beneficiaries to an entity in which they have a financial relationship for designated health services). The whitepaper asserts that support for reform of the Stark Law has grown tremendously in recent years, […]

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