Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
PRIVACY COMPLAINTS STREAM INTO OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
The straight dope on the first five months of HIPAA enforcement. Your patients are showing they're willing to speak up when they feel their privacy rights are being violated. During the first five months of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule enforcement, the HHS Office for Civil Rights has received more than 1,800 complaints, according to OCR Director Richard Campanelli. That averages out to more than 15 complaints per business day. Speaking at a hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging Sept. 23, Campanelli said OCR has already resolved and closed about 30 percent of those complaints. He said that the closed matters either didn't raise a real privacy issue, didn't involve an actual violation of HIPAA or were resolved "expeditiously and informally - through voluntary compliance - usually after providing some technical assistance." To see a copy of Campanelli's prepared testimony, go to http://aging.senate.gov/hearings/hr111rc.pdf.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- DME:
IR Review A Certainty For Operation Wheeler Dealer
Power wheelchair use should be on the rise, disability advocates say. The double threat of [...] - Medicare Reform:
CONFEREES GET NEW DEADLINE, BUSH PEP TALK
Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have set a new deadline of Oct. 17 for congressional [...] - Long-Term Care:
LTC Providers Push Feds For Reimbursement Changes
Long-term care providers should keep their three-hole punch handy. The buzz from the recent annual [...] - Home Health:
HHA Outcomes Debut On The Web This Month
The home health quality initiative will be hitting the Web and local newspapers in late [...] - Long-Term Care:
NURSING HOMES CAN FREE UP CNA TIME WITH FEEDING ASSISTANTS
New regulations permit long-term care facilities to hire paid feeding assistants. Nursing homes struggling with [...] - HIPAA:
PRIVACY COMPLAINTS STREAM INTO OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
The straight dope on the first five months of HIPAA enforcement. Your patients are showing [...] - Regulations:
GET READY FOR A NEW WAY TO LEARN ABOUT MEDICARE CHANGES
CMS' Medicare manuals get a makeover - and they'll soon be online - only. Provider-specific [...] - Medicare+Choice:
Relatively Few Affected By Medicare+Choice Withdrawals
Sixteen health plans are withdrawing from Medicare+Choice or reducing their service area, leaving 41,000 people [...] - PROGRAM MEMO ROUNDUP
The 2004 update to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System will reach Medicare contractors Oct. [...] - BILL WATCH
Bills introduced in the House: H.R. 3189. A bill to amend title XVIII of the [...]
