According to the 2010 Proposed Physician Fee Schedule (PPFS), as of January 1, 2012, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes that Medicare payment be made only for the technical component (TC) of advanced diagnostic imaging services to suppliers who have met the accreditation requirements set forth by…
House Democrats released the long-awaited healthcare bill today. In its 1018 pages, it describes its 10-year, $1 trillion venture that includes the highly controversial government insurance plan. As Democrats have publicized, this bill will greatly expand healthcare insurance coverage to Americans without insurance and, at the same time, slow the…
Wednesday, Michigan’s Attorney General–Michael Cox–alongside Republican legislators supported a bill being drafted by the Michigan legislature that would create a Michigan Office of Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG). This office would convert the already-in-place Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to an office that audits Medicaid activities and helps detect and prevent Medicaid…
The August 1st Red Flags start date is quickly approaching and many creditors (yes, that means you, doctors) are preparing themselves for the new regulations. For those entities that have not drawn up their Red Flags programs yet, there is still time and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has provided…
If you’re a physician, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Proposed Physician Fee Schedule for 2010 affects you. As a matter of fact, according to the proposed rule, Medicare will cut spending on physician services by 21.5% beginning in January 2010. The finalized fee schedule will be released…
An Office of Inspector General (OIG) Advisory Opinion, OIG Advisory Opinion No. 09-06, was released addressing the issue of whether or not “expanding an existing program that provides free oral nutritional supplements to malnourished end-stage renal disease patients who are on dialysis” would violate the civil monetary penalty provision or…
An Office of Inspector General (OIG) Advisory Opinion, OIG Advisory Opinion No. 09-06, was released addressing the issue of whether or not “an existing arrangement in which a hospital has agreed to share with a cardiology group, a vascular surgical group, and an interventional radiology group a percentage of the…
Doctors, say goodbye to your free vacations, mugs, and even pens you get from pharmaceutical companies. If you live in Massachusetts or Vermont, the state has passed regulations banning physicians from receiving gifts from pharmaceutical companies. In Vermont, getting a free meal is also banned while Massachusetts limits it. This…
The Obama administration announced yesterday, July 1, 2009, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, that it plans to significantly reduce Medicare payments to physicians, in particular, imaging services and specialists. The purpose of this policy change is to increase the number of primary care physicians to meet the demand…
In Miami, judges have begun sentencing defendants convicted of playing a role in the Medicare fraud scheme. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has initiated the Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), which is aimed at reducing Medicare and Medicaid fraud. The indictments include, but are…