Hospice Audit Series: Beyond Part D, OIG Scrutinizes the Hospice Industry to the Tune of $6.6 Billion
Hooper, Kearney and Macklin on Cutting Edge Topics in the False Claims Act
The 60-day Refund Rule, created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, requires providers to report and return Medicare and Medicaid overpayments within 60 days of identifying them. See Section 1128J(d) of the Social Security Act,...more
Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401: Whether allegations that a defined-contribution retirement plan paid or charged its participants fees that substantially exceeded fees for alternative available investment...more
The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Final Rule (the Rule) on April 29, 2021 extending and making various revisions to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model (the CJR Model). The CJR Model...more
Highlights this week: Democrats’ takeover of the House will yield big changes for healthcare policy in 2019; several GOP lawmakers active in healthcare policy are defeated; pharma pushes for Part D changes in the lame duck;...more
A recent ruling by a federal district court could have a significant impact on how certain health insurers, specifically those providing coverage pursuant to Medicare Parts C (i.e., Medicare Advantage insurers) and D (i.e.,...more
Anticipating open enrollment season for coverage in 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released coverage and premium information that will factor into consumer decisions about Medicare and individual...more
Overpayments to healthcare providers receiving Medicare reimbursements are at risk of civil and criminal enforcement action if not attuned to a particular reimbursement rule and diligent in compliance with the rule’s...more
On Tuesday, May 23, the White House released the President's fiscal year 2018 (FY18) budget, launching a contentious and consequential debate that is expected to last through the end of the fiscal year and possibly beyond....more
The American Hospital Association, after having been “nice” all year, penned its letter to Santa Claus with its wish list for Christmas. Its four page letter (actually addressed to President-Elect Donald Trump at 1717...more
On November 10, 2016, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its 2017 Work Plan. The 2017 Work Plan outlines the areas of special concern to the OIG and...more
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) enacted new rules governing overpayments made by the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Under these rules, providers have 60 days from the date that the overpayment has been identified to...more
The Medicare Board of Trustees is calling for urgent legislative action to address the impending financial insolvency of the Medicare hospital benefit program. The Board’s 2016 report reveals the trust fund that pays for...more
As has been widely discussed, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (‘‘CMS’’) Feb. 12 published the long-awaited final rule governing the return of Medicare Part A and Part B overpayments within 60 days (the...more
On February 22, 2016, CMS announced on its blog four new enrollment tactics designed to strengthen provider enrollment screening efforts. Just three days later, on February 25, 2016, CMS released a proposed rule that would...more
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) established that any person who receives an overpayment from the Medicare or Medicaid programs and who does not report and return the overpayment within 60 days after...more
On August 3, 2015, the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York issued a long-awaited opinion and order rejecting a motion to dismiss filed by the defendants in U.S. ex rel. Kane v. Continuum Health...more
The Southern District of New York has spoken on one of the first issues to confront those seeking compliance with the new “60-day rule” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and it does not bode well for defendant hospitals...more
On July 1, 2015, CMS released a Proposed Rule that would revise the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Payment System payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2016, and would...more
For some health care providers, a pair of recent announcements made by the Obama Administration to implement mandatory alternative payment models (APMs) for home health value-based purchasing and bundled payments for hip and...more
Although CMS has not yet issued a final rule on the ACA’s 60-day repayment provisions, hospitals and other providers can still create policies and train staff in a manner that gives them some measure of protection. Even with...more
In a recent notice, the Internal Revenue Service has tempered prior guidance that closed the door on employer arrangements for paying the cost of individual health insurance for employees. The IRS still views these premium...more
On Friday October 31, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its annual “Work Plan” for fiscal year 2015. The Work Plan is a compilation of the OIG’s plans for...more
On October 28, 2013, CMS announced that Medicare beneficiaries are realizing significant out-of-pocket savings as a result of health care reform efforts. The savings are based on cumulative savings in the prescription drug...more