Over the last three decades, the OIG has developed a series of voluntary compliance program guidance documents (“CPGs”) directed at various segments of the healthcare industry, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices....more
AGG’s Home Health & Hospice team publishes a quarterly newsletter covering legal and regulatory topics specific to the home and community-based healthcare industry. The fields of end-of-life and home healthcare present...more
In this episode, Jason Bring, AGG Healthcare partner and co-chair of the Post-Acute & Long-Term Care industry team; Matt Brohm, AGG Healthcare partner and co-chair of the Healthcare Private Equity team; and Alex Foster, AGG...more
The US Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued a report on December 12, 2022, recommending that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) expand hospice fraud and abuse reporting requirements to make them...more
For too long, many have talked about the need for community-based palliative care programs as both a precursor to hospice care and even as a stand-alone service. Sure, some have given it a go, but for many others, without...more
After attending the recent annual conference of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (“NAHC”) in St. Louis, Missouri, and speaking with numerous clients, consultants, and vendors, AGG Healthcare partner, co-chair...more
After more than two years since the initial Provider Relief Fund (“Fund”) disbursement, hospices are beginning to see audits of their Fund expenditures by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”) Office of the...more
Georgia’s COVID-19 immunity protections for nursing facilities, providers, and businesses will sunset on July 14, 2022, so does this mean dark litigation days lie ahead?
At the height of the COVID outbreak in the spring...more
Since 1925, Congress and the United States Supreme Court have recognized arbitration as a favored means of dispute resolution, offering a faster, more private, and less expensive alternative to the court systems....more
In the wake of the government-wide sequestration cuts in 2011, the hospice industry was not spared. Medicare hospice payments were reduced by two percent in accordance with a sequestration order issued March 1, 2013, pursuant...more
An August 2020 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General recommended that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revamp its use of the hospital wage index to...more
More than one year after two major hospice reports raised concerns ranging from billing to patient safety, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) continues its review of the...more
The Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act (the “Act”) went into effect upon the Governor’s signature on Wednesday, August 5, 2020. The full language of the Act is available here. This law limits a business’s liability...more
Drawing to a close a protracted battle over Georgia’s hospital lien statute, the Georgia Supreme Court issued an opinion on June 29, 2020, siding with Georgia’s hospital community. The class action case involved allegations...more
In the last hours of its unusual 2020 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation providing COVID-19 liability protections for healthcare facilities, healthcare providers, property owners, sports...more
CMS has announced a series of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to provide hospice providers with flexibility to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goals of these actions are to expand the healthcare system...more
On March 30, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFC) introducing temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to promote flexibility in the American health care system...more
Misuse of controlled substances continues to be a serious public health problem in the United States. The most commonly misused controlled substances include opioids (such as oxycodone), which are used to treat pain, and...more
CMS Announces Hospice Capitation Rates for Medicare Advantage -
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the capitation rates for hospice care through the value-based insurance design...more
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the capitation rates for hospice care through the value-based insurance design model (VBID), often referred to as the Medicare Advantage hospice...more
The White House presented its FY 2021 budget to Congress in early February. The budget included HHS budget provisions reflecting the Trump Administration’s views on policy areas affecting hospice. ...more
On February 10, 2020, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY) introduced the Helping Our Senior Population in Comfort Environments Act or HOSPICE Act (H.R. 5821). ...more
The uncertainty surrounding the use of arbitration agreements in nursing homes has finally ended—at least for now. On July 16, 2019, CMS released its long-awaited final rule, which updates the requirements nursing homes must...more
On Monday June 24, 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court issued its opinion in Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. et al v. LTC Consulting, L.P. et al. LTC Consulting, L.P. and two affiliated entities, which operate three nursing homes in...more
AGG health care litigation partners Jason Bring, Chesley McLeod, and Jerad Rissler recently filed a friend of the court brief with the Georgia Court of Appeals on behalf of both the Georgia Hospital Association and the...more