On August 2, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued its highly anticipated 2014 inpatient prospective payment system (“IPPS”) Final Rule (the “Final Rule”). Within this Final Rule, CMS finalized (1) its new requirements for Medicare Part A coverage of inpatient hospital admissions; and (2) its Part…
On March 13, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) concurrently issued Ruling CMS-1455-NR (the “Ruling”) and a proposed rule for revising Medicare Part B billing policies in the event of Part A payment denials (the “Proposed Rule”). BACKGROUND Since the conclusion of the Recovery Audit Contractor (“RAC”)…
Abby Pendleton, Esq. will be co-speaking with Jack Bert, M.D. and Ranjan Sachdev, M.D. MBA, CHC on March 19, 2013 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Chicago. They will be presenting on the topic “Compliance 2013- What You Need to Know”. For more information, please contact…
It seems like every ten years or so the pendulum swings towards or away from physicians seeking employment from hospitals as opposed to heading off on their own or joining existing private physician practices. Over the last few years, the pendulum has swung towards hospital employment. A number of factors…
On June 1, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (the “OIG”) issued its Advisory Opinion No. 12-06, which provides long-awaited guidance to the health care industry regarding the legal permissibility of an anesthesia delivery service model commonly referred to as the “company model.” Insofar…
In their June newsletter, The Record, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) recommended that physicians “consult with their legal counsel periodically.” The problem that BCBSM identified is the situation where physicians prescribe and dispense durable medical equipment and prosthetics and orthotics items in order to provide a means for…
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday that it has settled, for $750,000, a data breach lawsuit filed against South Shore Hospital under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act and the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The alleged HIPAA violation arose from unencrypted back-up tapes that South Shore…
In four new recently posted frequently asked questions (FAQs) (select Fraud and Abuse in the left column), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offers new guidance regarding the CMS Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol. On September 23, 2010, CMS published the Medicare self-referral disclosure protocol (“SRDP”) pursuant to Section…
On March 29, 2012, with veritably no debate and less fan-fare, the New Hampshire House of Representatives recommended for passage HB 1725. HB 1725 is broad-reaching, and would prohibit all medical practitioners from prescribing or referring any FDA class II or class III implantable device in cases where they would…
In a Study released March 15, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG), reported on what it determined to be questionable billing by Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities (IDTFs) for claims submitted in 2009. In conducting this study, the OIG analyzed claims among geographic areas,…