In this issue, we provide an overview of 62 recently unsealed qui tam cases and take an in-depth look at four of those cases. Two of the featured cases concern alleged schemes to provide unnecessary therapy to residents of...more
11/9/2018
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Former Employee ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Physicians ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Settlement Agreements ,
TRICARE
We have now had more than 30 days to digest HRSA’s proposed 340B Drug Pricing Program Omnibus Guidance (“Proposed Guidance”), intended to clarify expectations and provide guidance on key issues in the 340B Program. There are...more
10/8/2015
/ Comment Period ,
Covered Entities ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
HRSA ,
Interpretive Rule ,
MCOs ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Patients ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Section 340B ,
State Medicaid Programs
Government and private health-care program payers have been anxiously awaiting FDA action on biosimilars. Payers anticipate that the ability to substitute and dispense a biosimilar product in lieu of a more expensive...more
On May 6, 2015, CMS issued interim final rules relating to Medicare Part D beneficiary access to Part D drugs. Through the rules, CMS announced updates regarding the impending prescriber enroll or opt-out effective date,...more
As states attempt to control increasing healthcare costs, many Medicaid programs are seeking approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement Medicaid managed care programs. In 2013, nearly 68...more
On March 30, 2015, CMS released guidance addressing Medicare and Medicaid coverage for biosimilar drug products. The Medicare/Medicaid coverage guidance comes on the heels of the FDA’s landmark approval of a biosimilar...more
Last week, I had the honor of participating in a panel discussion about how health care entities deal with reported compliance concerns at the ABA’s 16th Annual Conference on Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law. The panel was...more
Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rules on policy and technical changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Prescription Drug Benefit programs (Part D) for contract year...more
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Indiana’s waiver under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act to implement Medicaid expansion, making it the 29th state (including the District of...more
Last week, a Tennessee federal district court judge ruled that government attorneys can extrapolate from a small sample of billing statements to over 50,000 claims submitted by Life Care Centers of America, Inc. (a nursing...more
For the past 18 months, health care providers and the pharmaceutical industry have been hoping for some clarity regarding 340B Drug Discount Program operations. But things just keep getting murkier....more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on April 9th a “historic” release of Medicare payment data to provide consumers with “unprecedented transparency on the medical services physicians provide and...more
On Jan. 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published proposed rules labeled as ‘‘policy and technical’’ changes to the Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) Programs....more
On Jan. 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published proposed rules labeled as ‘‘policy and technical’’ changes to the Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) Programs....more
I recently posted that 2014 is expected to be a year of major developments in the 340B Drug Discount Program, with HRSA receiving enhanced funding, stepping up audit activity, and drafting regulations in response to criticism...more
The Federal Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) was established in July 2005 to administer the Medicare appeals program. OMHA adjudicates appeals regarding Medicare entitlement and Medicare provider reimbursement....more
The U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken the unusual step of appealing a federal district court’s dismissal of a declined qui tam brought under the federal and multiple state false claims acts (FCA). Could the...more
Adhering to the axiom that the best defense is a good offense, SNHPA (Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access), an organization of close to 1000 hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, is attempting...more
The increasing availability of health care claims and payment data may portend the future of government and private health care enforcement and litigation. ...more
Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a series of bills into law last week modifying some of the state’s Medicaid statutes and programs. The laws will take effect on September 1, 2013....more
This week the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) issued an updated Special Advisory Bulletin on the Effect of Exclusion from Participation in Federal Health Care Programs, an...more
In a March 2013 article, I wrote about members of Congress calling for increased oversight of the 340B drug discount program and, in particular, hospital use of 340B drugs. This week, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa...more
On April 1st, the Sixth Circuit reversed an $11.1 million dollar summary judgment finding entered against MedQuest Associates, a diagnostic testing company. In its opinion, the Sixth Circuit found that violation of two...more