The American Hospital Association (AHA) expressed its concerns with numerous regulations adversely impacting hospitals, by way of letter dated January 14, 2010 to Darrell Issa, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the U.S. House of Representatives. Among numerous other regulations causing strife for hospital providers (e.g., the Federal Stark law, […]
CMS announced on December 30th a new feature to enhance its Physician Directory tool, called Physician Compare, which expands and updates the existing Healthcare Provider Directory. The new site, www.medicare.gov/find-a-doctor, was mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In the first phase of the roll-out, the categories of information on the Physician Compare […]
With the onslaught of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provisions making it a false claim to retain known overpayments and the new CMS guidance on the newly-reinstated Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP), Wisconsin Physician Services (WPS)–the Medicare Part B Contractor for Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota–released its revised overpayment notification and […]
For over a year, the Health Law Attorney Blog has reported on many of the electronic health records (EHR) incentive payment updates (the most recent entry from July 13, 2010). Beginning today, eligible professionals, hospitals and critical access hospitals may begin registering for incentive payments for demonstrating meaningful use of certified EHR technology. Certified EHR […]
On December 28,2010, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) published Advisory Opinion 10-26, wherein the OIG concluded that an ambulance provider offering discounted rates to skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) could violate the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”). In Advisory Opinion 10-26, Requestor is a nonprofit Medicare and Medicaid certified ambulance supplier providing emergency and non-emergency transportation services, […]
Last week, a lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas federal court, challenging the validity of the aggregate annual cap for hospice reimbursement. Medicare provides reimbursement for hospice services rendered on a per beneficiary, per diem basis, subject to an aggregate annual cap. This cap is based upon the product of a per-beneficiary […]
When advising clients regarding the legal risks potentially implicated by the health care transactions into which they contemplate entering, we at The Health Law Partners have consistently articulated the mantra that “there is substantially heightened scrutiny in the regulatory arena.” It is not uncommon for clients to inquire, upon hearing this, whether the risks are […]
The days are counting down to December 31 where certain New York providers and suppliers must certify that they have adopted and implemented “effective compliance programs” to be eligible to receive Medicaid payments (for a more detailed explanation of the requirements under the Medicaid Provider Compliance Programs can be found in our June 26, 2009 […]
Passed in the House and Senate and awaiting signature by the President, the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010 limits the definition of “creditor” to include only those that use consumer reports, furnish information to consumer reporting agencies or advance funds to a person. Importantly, the definition does not include one who advances funds […]
Identical bills passed by both House and Senate. Building upon the fifth 1-month extension patch this year that delayed a steep 23% Medicare provider pay cut, the U.S. House and Representatives (by a vote of 409-2) and the U.S. Senate (unanimously) both passed another pay cut delay. This delay will last through 2011 and the […]
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