A preview of the effects that a provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 will have on healthcare providers came to light this week when the Railroad Retirement Board (Board) published an interim final rule implementing...more
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates recently announced new instructions for attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), outlining in a memorandum the DOJ’s policies with respect to civil and criminal...more
10/12/2015
/ Best Practices ,
Corporate Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Misappropriation ,
Professional Misconduct ,
Yates Memorandum
Aetna is now facing another set of claims calling into question its determination and payment methodology for out-of-network reimbursement. On September 4, 2015, six surgical centers in Texas (Allied Center for Special...more
9/29/2015
/ Aetna ,
Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
On February 23, 2015, Aetna filed suit in Texas federal court against Robert A. Behar, M.D. and North Cypress Medical Center (North Cypress), alleging that Dr. Behar, the CEO of North Cypress, offered impermissible ownership...more
8/31/2015
/ Aetna ,
Breach of Duty ,
Contingency Fees ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Insurance Industry ,
Lanham Act ,
Life Insurance ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Patient Referrals ,
Real Party in Interest ,
RICO ,
Tortious Interference
The Southern District of New York has spoken on one of the first issues to confront those seeking compliance with the new “60-day rule” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and it does not bode well for defendant hospitals...more
8/14/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CID ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Overpayment ,
Overpayment Recovery Time Limits
On May 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued an opinion in a federal False Claims Act (FCA) case that resolves two important procedural points litigants face: the tolling of the six-year statute of...more
6/1/2015
/ False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First-to-File ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Popular ,
Qui Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Whistleblowers ,
WSLA
In March 2014, CMS temporarily suspended the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program until it secured new contracts. The contracts for the program expired in June 2014, and in August, CMS said that it would restart the...more
In an attempt to clear the backlog of appeals of short inpatient stays, CMS recently announced a settlement offer for hospitals with claims currently pending in the appeals process. In exchange for withdrawal of their...more
The federal government was busy over the summer when it came to decisions and settlements under the Stark Law, anti-kickback law and federal False Claims Act. This article revisits recent developments with respect to...more
In a pair of proposed rules published in May, the HHS OIG unveiled changes to the regulations concerning OIG’s authority to impose civil monetary penalties (CMPs) and exclude individuals and entities from participation in...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published an announcement indicating that the agency is “in the procurement process for the next round of Recovery Audit Program Contracts” and is winding down its...more
Recent seemingly contrary determinations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have fueled industry speculation regarding whether qualified health plans (QHPs) available on the health insurance exchanges...more
On March 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published in the Federal Register two important documents addressing the hotly contested issue of a hospital's ability to obtain payment under Part B for...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the DOJ jointly released a report concluding that, for every dollar spent on healthcare fraud investigations in the last three years, the government...more
The ATRA significantly alters provider rights related to overpayment recoupment, refunds, audits and claims appeals. A provision entitled "Removing obstacles to collection of overpayments" increases the statute of limitations...more
In This Issue:
- Healthcare Provisions in the American Taxpayer Relief Act - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- American Taxpayer Relief Act Amends Overpayment Recovery Time Limits
- OIG Advisory Opinion Sheds...more
1/14/2013
/ American Taxpayer Relief Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
OCR ,
OIG ,
Overpayment Recovery Time Limits ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Settlement