Community Health Network (CHN) in Indiana has agreed to pay $345 million to settle false claims allegations that it paid over-the-top salaries to hundreds of physicians and rewarded them for their referrals in violation of...more
2/20/2024
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compensation ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Stark Law ,
Whistleblowers
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute Hospital Inc. in Tampa, Florida, has agreed to pay $19.564 million to settle false claims allegations over claims submitted to federal health care programs for items and...more
2/20/2024
/ Clinical Trials ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
OCR ,
Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol ,
Settlement
Hospitals and other providers should brace for recoupment of possibly hundreds of millions of dollars they were reportedly overpaid for services provided under the COVID-19 uninsured program (UIP) in the wake of new audit...more
8/17/2023
/ Audits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
HRSA ,
OIG ,
Overpayment ,
Provider Relief Fund ,
Relief Measures ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Report on Medicare Compliance Volume 32, no 29 (August 2023)
In a new Medicare transmittal (12,202), CMS introduced a new place of service (POS) code (27) for “Outreach Site/Street.” POS 27 is defined as “a non-permanent...more
Report on Medicare Compliance Volume 32, no 25 (July 2023)
The former chief hospital executive of Bayonne Medical Center (BMC) in New Jersey has filed a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit alleging the hospital and two others...more
7/18/2023
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
HRSA ,
Overpayment ,
Provider Relief Fund ,
Whistleblowers
Report on Medicare Compliance Volume 32, no 25 (July 2023)
Hospices in four states will face heightened oversight. “CMS is placing newly enrolling hospices located in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas in a provisional...more
7/18/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospice ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Settlement
Report on Medicare Compliance 31 no. 29 (August 15, 2022) -
Sanford Health, Sanford Clinic and Sanford Medical Center in South Dakota have agreed to pay $25,842 in a settlement about telemedicine services with the HHS...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 31 no. 18 (May 16, 2022)
- In a new report, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) said 25% of Medicare beneficiaries experienced patient harm (adverse events and temporary harm events)...more
5/18/2022
/ Audits ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Beneficiaries ,
OIG ,
Patient Safety ,
Settlement
Report on Medicare Compliance 31, no. 14 (April 18, 2022) -
Michigan gynecologic oncologist Vinay Malviya, M.D., has agreed to pay $775,000 to settle false claims allegations in connection with medically unnecessary...more
4/20/2022
/ Audits ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Unnecessary Medical Procedures ,
Work Plans
Report on Medicare Compliance 31, no. 14 (April 18, 2022) -
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said April 11 it has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) in Memphis, Tennessee,...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 32 (September 13, 2021) -
John Peter Smith (JPS) Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, agreed to pay $3.3 million to settle false claims allegations in a case with a hot risk area, a...more
9/16/2021
/ Billing ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Overpayment ,
Personal Liability ,
Physicians ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblowers
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 28 (August 2, 2021) -
When a hospital realized it had been billing for annual wellness visits without documentation of opioid and substance use screening, it wasn’t a heavy lift to...more
8/4/2021
/ 60-Day Rule ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Overpayment ,
Physicians ,
Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 14 (April 12, 2021) -
Doctors Care P.A., the largest urgent care provider network in South Carolina, and its management company, UCI Medical Affiliates of South Carolina Inc., will...more
4/15/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) ,
Inpatient Quality Reporting ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Regulation ,
TRICARE ,
Urgent Care Facilities ,
Whistleblowers
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 11 (March 22, 2021) -
A cancer center has won its appeal of $2 million in Medicare claim denials in a case about modifier 25 and the extrapolation of an overpayment. Problems with the...more
3/23/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Billing Errors ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA) ,
Overpayment ,
Physicians ,
Settlement
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 8 (March 1, 2021) -
According to a CMS spokesperson, “CMS has not yet determined when Targeted Probe and Educate reviews will resume.” Meanwhile, “CMS continues to temporarily pause...more
3/2/2021
/ Bad Debt ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Elder Care ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospitals ,
Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Beneficiaries ,
Medicare Part A ,
Noncompliance ,
OIG ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 4 (February 1, 2021)
- Correction: Medicare’s home oxygen national coverage determination has been waived during the public health emergency. RMC’s Jan. 25 issue stated otherwise. The...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 2 (January 18, 2021) -
Recovery audit contractors (RACs) may soon be auditing positron emission tomography (PET) for initial treatment strategy in oncologic conditions for compliance...more
1/22/2021
/ Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Necessity ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
OCR ,
Physicians ,
Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) ,
Required Documentation ,
Right of Access ,
Settlement Agreements
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 42 (November 23, 2020)
- CMS said Nov. 16 that the Medicare fee-for-service improper payment rate dropped to 6.27% in FY 2020 from 7.25% last year, although CMS had to “modify”...more
12/1/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
OCR ,
OIG ,
Right of Access ,
Settlement
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 39 (November 2, 2020) -
Medtronic USA Inc., a medical device maker, has agreed to pay $8.1 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce...more
11/9/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Health Care ,
Kickbacks ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Settlement ,
Telecommunications ,
Telehealth
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 35 (October 5, 2020)
- In a major national enforcement action, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal agencies said Sept. 30 they have charged 345 people, including more...more
10/15/2020
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Health Care Programs (FHCP) ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Sentencing ,
Telemedicine
Report on Medicare Compliance Volume 29, no. 32 (September 14, 2020) -
Wheeling Hospital in West Virginia has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit over physician compensation, the Department...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 30 (August 24, 2020)
- A federal court on Aug. 17 blocked HHS from enforcing its revised definition of sex discrimination in Sec. 1557, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of...more
8/26/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Appeals ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospice ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Medicare ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1557 ,
Settlement ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Stays
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 25 (July 13, 2020)
- Ophthalmic Consultants PA in Sarasota, Florida, agreed to pay $4.8 million to settle false claims allegations that it billed Medicare and other federal payers...more
7/21/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Durable Medical Equipment ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Guidance Update ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Settlement ,
Telemedicine ,
Work Plans
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 20 (June 1, 2020) -
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has unveiled its “OIG Strategic Plan: Oversight of COVID-19 Response and Recovery.” Its goals are protecting people, funds...more
6/2/2020
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Settlement
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 16 (April 27, 2020)
- The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has proposed a rule on civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for information blocking and fraud related to HHS grants, contracts...more
5/5/2020
/ Audits ,
Billing Errors ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Data Blocking ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Billing Privileges ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Psychological Counseling ,
State Attorneys General ,
Telehealth