The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its plan to expand the use of electronic health records (EHR) through incentives payments, to improve Americans’ health, increase safety and reduce health care costs. Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, health care professionals and hospitals can qualify […]
In addition to the many aspects of the new HIPAA rules modifying the existing HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, if the proposed rules are finalized, covered entities will be required to make “material modifications” to their Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”) therefore triggering obligations to revise and distribute the “new” Notices. For example, covered entities […]
The OIG for the Department of Health and Human Services entered into a Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) settlement agreement for $7.3 million with United Shockwave Services, United Prostate Centers, and United Urology Centers (collectively, United), all of which are based in the Chicago, Illinois area. This agreement settles charges by OIG alleging that United, and […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) today announced a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding HIPAA Privacy and Security. The proposed rule is issued in connection with the amendments and expansion to HIPAA made as part of the Health Information Technology and Economic Clinical Health Act (the “HITECH Act”), enacted as part of the […]
The Federal Trade Commission recently issued a press release delaying the compliance deadline of the red flag rules until December 31, 2010. Then, on June 25, 2010, the FTC and several medical groups stipulated that the FTC will not enforce its red flag rules against physicians who are members of the American Medical Association, American […]
Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger requested exemption from the federal supervision requirement of nurse anesthetists. After unsuccessfully seeking a rescission of the opt-out, on June 3, 2010, the California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) and California Medical Association (CMA) filed a lawsuit against the governor. Medicare required a physician to supervise a nurse anesthetist until 2001, […]
The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) today published a report regarding overpayments identified made to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (“IRFs”) from 2004 through 2007. According to the report, of the claims reviewed by the OIG, the vast majority (i.e., 213 out of 220) of transfers from an IRF to another facility were improperly coded as discharges. […]
It looks like the days of “voluntary” compliance programs for the health care industry are coming to an end. Specifically, Section 6401(a)(7) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA” or the “health care reform bill”) included provisions mandating compliance programs as part of the Medicare enrollment process. According to the health care reform […]
CMS has released their proposed disclosure requirements for In-Office Ancillary Services (IOAS) Exception. Section 1877 of the Act or the physician self-referral law (Stark) prohibits a physician from making referrals for certain “designated health services” (DHS) payable by Medicare to an entity with which he or she has a financial relationship, unless an exception applies. […]
CMS has released the proposed physician fee schedule and other Medicare Part B payment policies to ensure their payment systems reflect the changes in medical practice and relative value services. This update also addresses certain provisions of both the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. Additionally, the proposed […]
Health Law Attorney Blog