Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
REGISTER WATCH
Who’s having difficulty accessing physicians? CMS wants to know.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Feb. 12 invited comments on a new survey intended to lend statistical rigor to anecdotal evidence suggesting that beneficiaries are finding it challenging to locate physicians who will accept new Medicare patients. The survey will be conducted in 11 regions thought to be suffering particularly severe Medicare-friendly doc droughts, mostly in the West, along with areas in New York and Florida. “The survey will inform CMS about the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries most likely to be experiencing physician access problems,” the agency says in the Federal Register. In other Register notices, CMS:
• Issued technical corrections to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, and;
• Renewed marching orders for the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education and announced a Feb. 27 meeting of the panel in Washington.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Reimbursement:
PHYSICIANS SCORE BIG IN OMNIBUS BILL
Physicians will get a 1.6-percent pay increase from Medicare, rather than a 4.4-percent decrease, under [...] - Home Health:
HOPE FOR 2003 RELIEF DIES WITH SENATE PROVISION
Despite the vocal support of many members of Congress, it appears there will be no [...] - Physicians:
FEE SCHEDULE HEADACHES ABOUND
This summer, Medicare carriers will be doling out checks to physicians whose January and February [...] - HIPAA:
CMS UNVEILS LONG-AWAITED HIPAA SECURITY RULE
After months of delays, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Feb. 13 finally unveiled [...] - False Claims Act:
CONTRACTORS DON'T HOLD THE BAG FOR PROVIDER FALSE CLAIMS
Whistleblowers can’t sic the False Claims Act on Medicare contractors simply for approving payments that [...] - Advisory Opinions:
CMS POLICY TRUMPS STRICT ANTI-KICKBACK ANALYSIS
A recent issuance from the HHS Office of Inspector General illustrates that the anti-kickback statute [...] - Advisory Opinions:
OIG NIXES COPAY SUBSIDY
Drugmakers can’t use Medicare to subsidize patient assistance programs for financially needy beneficiaries, the HHS [...] - Enforcement:
NORTHWESTERN CLOSES BOOK ON RESEARCH GRANT QUI TAM
An ex-employee of Northwestern University will collect more than $900,000 of a False Claims Act [...] - Medicaid:
IMD BILLING CAN STILL VEX STATES
Texas and California are the focus of the HHS Office of Inspector General’s latest reckonings [...] - Long-Term Care:
STAFFING, NOT POLICING, KEY ON ELDER ABUSE, SAYS AHCA
Legislation to decrease abuse of the elderly would be better if it focused on the [...] - Reimbursement:
CMS EXPANDS BAD DEBT PAYMENT CUT
A 30-percent cut to bad debt reimbursement would apply to all eligible providers — not [...] - SCHIP:
SCHIP ENROLLMENT RISES
During fiscal year 2002, 5.3 million children were enrolled in the State Children’s Health Insurance [...] - Enforcement:
MSP BLUES
The Department of Justice Feb. 11 partially intervened in a whistleblower suit accusing Pittsburgh, PA-based [...] - BILL WATCH
The following Senate bills were introduced: S. 343. A bill to amend title XVIII of [...] - REGISTER WATCH
Who’s having difficulty accessing physicians? CMS wants to know. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid [...] - PROGRAM MEMO ROUNDUP
The interest rate for Medicare overpayments has sunk to 10.75 percent, the lowest level in [...]
