As Medicare providers and suppliers are acutely aware, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has determined that the use of Recovery Audit Contractors (“RACs”) is a “cost-effective” way to identify and correct improper payments, in part as a result of the contingency-fee-based structure of using these auditors. Primarily because of the program’s cost-effectiveness, […]
Michigan isn’t the first state to consider a tax on healthcare providers to help fund Medicaid. As HLP previously reported, Governor Granholm is pushing again this year for a 3% tax on physician revenue. The taxes can help bring matching federal support for Medicaid, so supporters of the tax argue that physicians who see a […]
This morning, the intended purchase by Nashville-based Vanguard Health System of the Detroit Medical Center was announced via a joint press release. Vanguard’s Letter of Intent announces that it will invest $850 million into the DMC over the next five years, and promises to keep all eight of DMC’s hospitals open for 10 years. Additionally, […]
HLP reported earlier this week that the failure of OCR to issue HIPAA regulations regarding the implementation of the HITECH Act was likely to lead to a delay in enforcement of the relevant provisions, though no official delay had been announced. In an update on its website on Wednesday, OCR has eased some confusion by […]
On March 15, 2010, the Joint Commission announced revisions to Medical Staff Standard MS.01.01.01 (formerly known as MS.1.20). The revisions are based on the unanimous recommendations of an 18-member expert task force representing the American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Dental Association, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, Federation of American Hospitals […]
Last week, the OIG released it’s Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations that “consolidates significant unimplemented monetary and nonmonetary recommendations addressed to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to provide information to interested parties about outstanding recommendations….” While these have not been implemented, it is something we want our clients and readers to be aware […]
While the HITECH Act technically went into effect last month, on February 17, 2010, HHS’s Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has yet to issue guidance and regulations about the implementation of new privacy and security requirements contained in the HITECH Act. Because of this failure, OCR has been hinting that it may delay enforcement of […]
HHS announced that it would “provide approximately $162 million to 16 states and qualified designated entities (SDEs) to facilitate non-proprietary health information exchange that adheres to national standards.” Those states receiving part of that $162 million are Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Iowa, Idaho, North Dakota, Alaska, Nebraska, South Dakota, Connecticut, Mississippi, Indiana, Montana, […]
As an update to our March 3 post, the US Senate has passed H.R. 4213 – The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act –, which if passed by the House of Representatives and signed into law, would extend the freeze to the Sustainable Growth Rate through September 30, 2010. Currently, the physician reimbursement freeze […]
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has continued to indict, prosecute, and convict members of the healthcare community for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) statue and the False Claims statute. Some notable prosecutions are below: – On February 2, 2010, Maria Aloise, the president and owner of Atenas Medical Equipment, Inc. (Atenas), was […]
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