Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
PAY A FINE, APPEAR ONLINE
Clash with the HHS Office of Inspector General and you could find yourself touted on the agency's Web page - even if the tussle is an administrative action that gets settled, historically a much lower-profile contretemps with the feds than, say, a full out False Claims Act action. OIG chief Janet Rehnquist unveiled a new enforcement section on the OIG Web site March 18 as part of the agency's ongoing effort to enhance public outreach to the provider community and others. The "Fraud Prevention and Detection" section touts recent OIG cases that result in either criminal prosecutions or civil monetary penalty actions on a wide range of purported misconduct. Entries include cases involving alleged misdeeds ranging from kickbacks to violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. While the summaries thus far don't name individuals, they do supply business names and locations. Lesson Learned: Providers trying to keep tabs on federal enforcement efforts have one more place to turn - but when it comes to fraud-fighting efforts, the OIG's latest resource is just the tip of the iceberg. To see the new resource, go to http://oighhs.gov/fraud/enforcementactions.html.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Budget:
SENATORS, PROVIDERS ARGUE AGAINST MEDICAID CUTS
Seventy-nine senators, led by Finance Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and senior panel Democrat Max [...] - Reimbursement:
ROCKY REIMBURSEMENT ROAD AHEAD FOR PHYSICIANS, HOSPITALS
Physicians aren't getting much opportunity to celebrate this year's Medicare reimbursement increase. At a March [...] - HIPAA:
OCR OPENS DOOR TO PRIVACY COMPLAINTS
Health care organizations, take note: The HHS Office of Civil Rights March 20 laid out [...] - Home Health:
HOME HEALTH INDUSTRY GRAPPLES WITH SPENDING GROWTH FIGURES
Home care providers' efforts to secure reimbursement relief from Congress may have taken a hit [...] - DME:
FEDS MEAN BUSINESS ON TELEMARKETING RESTRICTIONS
Federal regulators are walking their talk when it comes to enforcing rules prohibiting durable medical [...] - Ambulances:
MEDICAL NECESSITY KEY IN AMBULANCE COMPLIANCE GUIDANCE
As health care fraud enforcement heats up for ambulance suppliers - especially at the state [...] - Hospitals:
WHISTLEBLOWER WINDFALL IN RECORD-BREAKING STARK CASE
A hospital employee who blew the whistle on alleged stark violations in a hospital-physician practice [...] - Hospitals:
CHARITABLE PROGRAMS CAN EVADE KICKBACK PERILS
Hospitals with a charitable mission have to take care that their efforts to help indigent [...] - DME:
DON'T BE TOO FORWARD WITH YOUR ADVANCES, OIG TELLS DMERCs
The check may be in the mail - but you might never see it anyway. [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
PAY A FINE, APPEAR ONLINE
Clash with the HHS Office of Inspector General and you could find yourself touted on [...] - Managed Care:
DUAL-ELIGIBLE BLUNDERS COMPLICATE MCO PAYMENTS
Florida managed Medicare companies were the lucky beneficiaries of a costly error by the Florida [...] - ASCs:
ASC RATESETTING STILL STALLED
Ambulatory surgical centers now have an updated list of the procedures Medicare has approved for [...] - Medicaid:
SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR TEXAS MEDICAID CASE
Did Texas waive its immunity under the federal constitution's 11th Amendment by entering into a [...] - BILL WATCH
The following House bill was introduced: H.R. 1422. A bill to amend title XVIII of [...] - REGISTER WATCH
Haven't been keeping up with the Federal Register? Missing a back issue? Here's your chance [...] - PROGRAM MEMO ROUNDUP
Medicare carriers will continue using existing policies on using statistical sampling to estimate provider overpayments, [...]
