Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
SCHIP ENROLLMENT RISES
During fiscal year 2002, 5.3 million children were enrolled in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program at some point, according to a Feb. 5 statement issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. This represents a 15- percent increase from the 4.6 million who were enrolled in the program in 2001.
HHS notes that President Bush’s fiscal year 2004 budget would keep available to the states for an additional year an estimated $830 million in unused FY 2000 funds that would otherwise revert to the federal treasury at the end of FY 2003. A bipartisan group of legislators, led by Reps. Billy- Tauzin (R-LA) and John Dingell (D-MI) in the House and Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and John Rockefeller (D-WV) in the Senate, has proposed legislation that would allow states to retain the FY 2000 funds, as well as extending for an additional year their ability to use about $670 million in FY 2001 funds that would revert to the treasury at the end of FY 2004. The proposal would also give states access through FY 2004 to $1.2 billion in SCHIP funds that were originally allocated for FY 1998- 99 and have already reverted to the treasury.
On Jan. 31, the administration proposed offering states the option of combining funding for Medicaid and SCHIP into a new block grant. It is unclear how that would affect unused SCHIP funding.
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 [...]
