Showing 50 posts in Providers.
CMS Releases Final Rule Revising Conditions of Participation for Home Health Agencies
On January 9, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued final rules that establish minimum standards for home health agencies (the “Rules”). According to CMS, the Rules are intended to improve the quality of health care services for Medicare and Medicaid patients and strengthen patients’ rights.
The Rules, which were published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2017, come more than two years after a draft proposal was introduced in October 2014. The Rules are mostly adopted as proposed, with a few clarifying changes. The Rules will become effective on July 13, 2017. This means agencies have less than six months to make changes necessary to comply with the revisions. Read More ›
Categories: Medicare/Medicaid, News & Events, Providers
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CMS Announces New Conditions of Participation for Long-Term Care Facilities
Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) updating the Medicare Conditions of Participation (“CoPs”) for long-term care (“LTC”) facilities. It is the first time in over 15 years that substantial LTC CoP revisions have been released.
LTC facilities affected by the Final Rule include skilled nursing facilities for Medicare and nursing facilities for Medicaid, or those facilities that are duly certified. The Final Rule took effect on November 28, 2016, however CMS has planned for a phased implementation. LTC providers must complete the three implementation phases by November 28 in the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. CMS has estimated that the costs of compliance will be $62,900 in the first phase of implementation, and $55,000 per year for phases two and three. Read More ›
Categories: Compliance, Medicare/Medicaid, News & Events, Pharmacy, Providers
Quality versus Quantity Transformation in Healthcare Picks Up Pace as CMS Issues New Rules
The march to transform Medicare from a quantity-based to a value-based system continues unabated - and the pace is quickening. Over the past several months, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued several final rules to update certain Medicare reimbursement rates and quality reporting requirements that impact vast numbers of healthcare providers. Read More ›
Categories: Billing/Payment, Medicare/Medicaid, Providers
CMS Expands Temporary Home Health Agency Enrollment Moratorium to all of Michigan
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") recently announced the statewide expansion of its temporary moratorium on the Medicare enrollment of new home health agencies ("HHAs"), subunits, and branch locations in Michigan. As a result of the moratorium expansion, effective as of July 29, 2016, new HHAs in Michigan are precluded from enrolling in Medicare until the moratorium is lifted. The temporary moratorium also precludes the Medicare enrollment of new HHAs in Florida, Illinois, and Texas. Read More ›
Categories: Medicare/Medicaid, Providers
CMS Issues Proposed Provider-Based Status Rules
On July 6, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") released the 2017 Outpatient Prospective Payment System ("OPPS") Proposed Rule (the "Proposed Rule"). The Proposed Rule explains how CMS plans to implement Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 ("Section 603"), which established a new site neutral payment policy for certain off-campus hospital outpatient departments.
Section 603 provides that, as of January 1, 2017, certain items and services provided by off-campus hospital outpatient departments will no longer be reimbursed under the more favorable OPPS, and will instead be paid under another "applicable payment system." Read More ›
Categories: Billing/Payment, Medicare/Medicaid, News & Events, Physicians, Providers
OCR Begins Phase 2 Audit Program of Covered Entities and Business Associates
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that it has begun Phase 2 of its HIPAA audit program. This audit phase will impact covered entities and their business associates. Read More ›
Categories: Compliance, HIPAA, Hospitals, Providers
HHS Issues Final Rule Implementing ACA Nondiscrimination Provisions
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services ("HHS") recently issued a final rule that implements the nondiscrimination provisions under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (the "Final Rule"). The Final Rule becomes effective July 18, 2016. Read More ›
Categories: Health Care Reform, News & Events, Providers
Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of FCA Whistleblower Lawsuit Based on Health Data Breach
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit alleging violations of the False Claims Act based on an individual security breach. The case, United States ex rel. Sheldon v. Kettering Health Network, arose after the relator (or whistleblower) received letters from Kettering Health Network (KHN) informing her that KHN employees, including her now ex-husband, impermissibly accessed her medical records. Read More ›
Categories: 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Compliance, HITECH Act, Providers
District Court Awards Summary Judgment to AseraCare in $200 Million Hospice False Claims Act Case
On March 31, 2016, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama granted summary judgment for AseraCare in one of the largest False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuits against a hospice provider. In this whistleblower case, the government sought over $200 million, alleging that defendant AseraCare overbilled Medicare for hospice services by falsely certifying that patients were eligible for hospice care.
The litigation began when six AseraCare employees in Alabama, Wisconsin and Georgia (the "relators") filed whistleblower cases under the FCA. The employees alleged that AseraCare knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare by falsely certifying that patients met the Medicare eligibility requirements for the hospice benefit. In order to be eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit, a patient's physician must certify that "the individual's prognosis is for a life expectancy of 6 months or less if the terminal illness runs its normal course." 42 C.F.R. § 418.22(b)(1). The Department of Justice (DOJ) intervened in January 2012. Read More ›
Categories: Audits, Billing/Payment, Medicare/Medicaid, Providers
Recent Seven Figure Settlements Underscore the Importance of HIPAA Compliance, Particularly in Light of OCR’s Announced Increase in Audit Activity
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that it reached resolution agreements and corrective action plans with two health care entities - a health system and a research institution - in connection with alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act of 1996 (HIPAA). These cases underscore the importance of ongoing HIPAA compliance vigilance by covered entities and business associates, particularly in light of OCR’s recent announcement that it has commenced Phase 2 of its audit program. Read More ›
Categories: Audits, Compliance, HIPAA, Providers
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Best Lawyers® 2021
Congratulations to the attorneys of the Health Care practice group at Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC for their inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2021 edition. Firm-wide, 44 lawyers were listed. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation and as lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Health Care practice group members listed in Best Lawyers are as follows:
- Jennifer B. Van Regenmorter, Holland
To see the full list of Foster Swift attorneys listed in Best Lawyers 2021, click here.