Hospice Insights Podcast - A Refresh: What’s New in the New OIG General Compliance Program Guidance
Understanding the HHS OIG’s General Compliance Program Guidance
OMG. . .The OIG is at it Again
Medical Device Legal News with Sam Bernstein: Episode 19
Episode 303 --- Deep Dive into the HHS-OIG Compliance Program Guidance
Navigating GSA Audits Compliance Strategies and Best Practices
DE Under 3: US DOL Inspector General’s Office Report Cites IT Modernization & Security Concerns
Medical Device Legal News with Sam Bernstein: Episode 17
Heed Caution: Takeaways From the OIG's Advance Care Planning Report
Telehealth Risk Report: What the Government Found
UPIC Report Card: The OIG’s Evaluation of the UPICs Provides Insight Into the Future of Hospice Audits
COVID-19 Hospice How-To Series | Pulling the Strings: New OIG Audits Scrutinize How Hospices Used Provider Relief Funds
Beyond Hospice: And They’re Off! The OIG’s Nationwide Review of Hospice Eligibility Has Begun
Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program FY 2021 Report
Beyond Hospice: The OIG Renews Its Scrutiny of Home Health Agencies
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Federal Criminal Aviation Cases From 2021
Hospice Audit Series: Beyond Part D, OIG Scrutinizes the Hospice Industry to the Tune of $6.6 Billion
[Podcast] Raul Ordonez on Telehealth
The OIG's Impending Review of Nationwide Hospice Eligibility Demands a Robust Response From Hospices
Rob DeConti on the Latest Guidance and Insights from the OIG at HHS
Although often well-intentioned, offering free or discounted items or services to patients (e.g., gifts, rewards, writing off copays, free screening exams, free supplies, etc.) may violate federal and state laws governing...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare coverage expanded to include a vast arsenal of tools that help patients access medical services while keeping patients and practitioners safe. Many of these tools involve telehealth...more
Takeaways: ..Telehealth greatly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, in large part due to regulatory waivers. Those regulatory waivers aren’t permanent, but lawmakers are evaluating ways to permanently expand some...more
On May 5, 2021, OIG issued guidance on its COVID-19 Administrative Enforcement FAQs page stating that an ambulance provider or supplier waiving or discounting Medicare beneficiary cost-sharing obligations presents a low risk...more
Companies who feel the Public Health Emergency (PHE) waivers and exceptions have rendered telemedicine “immune” from compliance oversight might be surprised to learn what federal regulators have in the works. The Office of...more
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency (the “PHE”) first declared on March 13, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued blanket Section 1135 Waivers to expand, albeit on a...more
With 2020 officially behind us, what does 2021 have in store for telemedicine and digital health policy? A year ago, our team predicted 2020 would bring “notable expansions in Medicare and Medicaid coverage” and “the...more
The OIG has indicated concern that patients suffering from opioid use disorder may experience difficulty accessing medication-assisted treatment (MAT), resulting in under-utilization of this intervention that offers what the...more
This On the Subject was updated on April 7, 2020, to address the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (OIG’s) April 3, 2020, Policy Statement and its potential impact as well. The Centers...more
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued blanket waivers to the Stark Law that permit certain arrangements between physicians and health care providers implemented in response to COVID-19...more
Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 has greatly liberalized federal and state telehealth requirements previously in place. What has not changed is the fact that telehealth services are governed by a number of different laws and...more
Alex Azar, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), declared a public health emergency related to the coronavirus pandemic (“Emergency Declaration”) on January 31, 2020. ...more
In the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare providers and suppliers will need to make decisions on how to ensure compliance with existing federal fraud and abuse laws while taking swift action to avoid...more
As we noted in our previous Health Law Scan blog CMS Issues Program Instructions for Medicare Telehealth Waiver, CMS issued program instructions on March 17 to implement the Medicare telehealth waiver in response to the...more
On March 6, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (the Act). The Act includes a provision allowing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human...more
The OIG recently released proposed revisions to the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Civil Monetary Penalties (CMP) Law. Several of these changes, if finalized, will directly benefit companies offering telemedicine and digital...more
In an Advisory Opinion posted earlier this week, the OIG gave the green light to a charitable pediatric clinic’s routine waiver of patient cost-sharing amounts. The OIG’s analysis hinged on several factors that, taken...more
A group of six government-operated fire departments has received a green light from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to enter into a mutual aid agreement to provide backup emergency ambulance services and to bill for...more
Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued an Advisory Opinion (17-02) that allows for waivers or reductions of cost-sharing amounts owed by financially needy...more
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued Advisory Opinion 17-02, allowing waivers or reductions of cost-sharing amounts owed by financially needy Medicare beneficiaries in connection with certain clinical...more
On December 7, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), issued a final rule creating additional “safe harbors” for the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 USC § 1320a-7b(b) et...more
The waiver of copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles owed by patients treated by out-of-network laboratories and other providers is a hot topic in the health care industry. Despite the near absence of clear legal...more
CMS’s risk adjustment program data signals an improving risk pool while the agency announces plans to modify the program; California enrolls 134,000 undocumented immigrant children into Medicaid; and Oregon approves increases...more
Lessons from Hawaii's Trailblazing ACA 1332 Waiver Proposal - Editor's Note: On September 9, Hawaii became the first state to post a draft 1332 waiver proposal for public comment. While Hawaii's proposal focuses on the...more
Nearly four years after publishing their joint interim final rule with comment period, effective November 2, 2011 (IFC), the OIG and CMS (Agencies) have finalized the waivers of various fraud and abuse laws in the context of...more