Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
RECRUITMENT PLAN DRAWS FEDS' IRE
Double-Check Your Physician Relocation Programs The controversial intersection between physician recruitment and Stark and anti-kickback rules appears to be at the heart of a new indictment brought against a California hospital chief executive officer. Embattled Santa Barbara, CA-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. revealed June 6 that the Department of Justice has brought criminal charges against Barry Weinbaum, CEO of Tenet subsidiary Alvarado Hospital Medical Center. "The charges apparently relate to payments under physician relocation agreements," Tenet says, involving a La Mesa, CA medical group that included Paul Ver Hoeve, a physician who was later convicted of felony Medicare fraud. Weinbaum describes the charges as "absolutely false," according to Tenet, whose leadership is defending the hospital CEO. "We believe in the personal and professional integrity of Barry Weinbaum and we expect him and the hospital to be fully vindicated from these unfortunate allegations," says Tenet President Trevor Fetter. Fetter suggests that Ver Hoeve himself is behind the allegations, noting that he cut a deal for a light sentence on his own fraud charges, agreeing in exchange to provide information to the feds. Fetter maintains that the allegations "apparently relate to claims by one disgraced physician and are no reflection on the hundreds of dedicated and ethical doctors who practice at Alvarado." Lesson Learned: Hospitals and physicians should ensure that recruitment incentives are compliant with Medicare fraud and abuse rules.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Medicare Private Plans:
PPOs WON'T PROLONG MEDICARE SOLVENCY, SAYS CMS
Adding preferred provider organizations to Medicare, as the White House strongly advocates, won't significantly improve [...] - Pharmaceuticals:
Senate Finance Produces Bipartisan Rx Plan
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ranking Democrat Max Baucus (DMT) unveiled a [...] - Hospitals:
CMS ISSUES FINAL OUTLIER RULE
Hospitals will have until Oct. 1, 2003, before their most up-to-date cost data is used [...] - Hospitals:
RECRUITMENT PLAN DRAWS FEDS' IRE
Double-Check Your Physician Relocation Programs The controversial intersection between physician recruitment and Stark and anti-kickback [...] - Pharmaceuticals:
PHARMA ENFORCEMENT REACHES A BOIL
Drug Giant Targeted In Criminal Probe The aggressive health care fraud enforcement team at the [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
200 PROVIDERS EXCLUDED PER MONTH
Medicaid rebates were at the center of the biggest health care fraud settlement over the [...] - Business Arrangements:
RADIOLOGIST-HOSPITAL JV CLEARS ANTI-KICKBACK HURDLES
Other Specialties Could Face Trickier Path The fact that radiologists don't typically order the tests [...] - HIPAA:
KNOW WHEN NOT TO SECURE A BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AGREEMENT
Health care providers and plans may not have as many Health Insurance Portability and Accountability [...] - Long-Term Care:
LTCHs SET FOR 2.5 PERCENT RAISE
So Long, Satellite Bed Restrictions Long-term care hospitals won't have to deal with potential restrictions [...] - Hospice:
JCAHO STAYS ON FOR HOSPICE ACCREDITATION
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will serve as a national accrediting organization [...] - Reimbursement :
DSH PITFALLS EMERGE IN OIG SCRUTINY
If you've had your disproportionate share hospital payment calculations challenged for including physician practice plan [...] - People
New Face Atop Troubled OIG As exiting HHS Office of Inspector General chief Janet Rehnquist [...] - Bill Watch
The following bills were introduced in the House: H.R. 2323. A bill to amend to [...] - Register Watch
The end-stage renal disease demonstration program, announced by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator [...] - PROGRAM MEMO ROUNDUP
Home health agencies in Connecticut and Massachusetts may be in line for a paperwork break [...]
