On June 28, 2024, SCOTUS overturned the long-standing Chevron doctrine in its decision Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce. The Court’s ruling will have a significant impact on...more
Today marks one month since United Health Group’s (UHG) Change Healthcare reported that it had been hit by a cybersecurity attack. The attack has caused a major disruption to the US healthcare system, significantly impacting...more
Change Healthcare Cyberattack - On February 21, 2024, Change Healthcare—a healthcare technology company owned by UnitedHealth Group—issued a statement that it had been impacted by a ransomware attack. According to Change...more
House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Legislative Hearing on 19 Bills. Lawmakers discussed 19 pieces of legislation designed to support patients and caregivers in the key areas of autism, heart defects,...more
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a new addition to its work plan: auditing whether payments made by Medicare for COVID-19 inpatient discharges billed by...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 7 (February 24, 2020) - Guardian Elder Care Holdings Inc., which operates more than 50 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, and its related...more
This past week, CMS confirmed it will continue the 2018 and 2019 underpayment policy for certain 340B covered entities unless the D.C. Court of Appeals upholds the lower court’s ruling that it is unlawful. In that case, CMS...more
On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the D.C. Circuit’s decision in favor of hospitals in Allina Health Services, et al. v. Price, 863 F.3d 937 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (Allina II).The Court’s...more
On September 12, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives approved by voice vote four bipartisan bills to amend various provisions of the Medicare program. A summary of each bill is below....more
In January 2018, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional information regarding a new Low Volume Appeals (LVA) settlement option and an expanded Settlement Conference Facilitation (SCF) as part of...more
On January 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum limiting the use of agency guidance documents in affirmative civil enforcement (ACE) cases. Stating that “[g]uidance documents cannot create...more
The HHS OIG recently published a report detailing CMS’s and Medicare Administrative Contractor’s (“MACs’”) ongoing issues in the outlier payment reconciliation process. A previous 2012 review identified 465 cost reports that...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued its Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2017. The annual Work Plan provides a summary of new, revised, and continuing reviews for DHHS...more
On October 27, 2016, a three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an opinion concluding that a Medicare fiscal intermediary (Intermediary) does not have the authority to enter into a...more
On August 19, 2016, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted a group of hospitals’ motion for summary judgment against HHS in a challenge of the Provider Reimbursement Review Board’s (PRRB) denial...more
According to two reports issued by OIG on July 25, the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) for Jurisdictions 13 and 14 made overpayments of approximately $2.7 million and approximately $1.3 million, respectively, for...more
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for HHS recently published a report titled “Compounded Drugs Under Medicare Part B: Payment and Oversight” (OIG Report) in which it recommended that CMS implement changes to the way...more
The MLN Connects™ Provider eNews contains important news, announcements, and updates for health care professionals. ICD-10 Compliance Date - On April 1, 2014, the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA)...more
On April 18, 2014, California Clinical Laboratory Association (“CCLA”) and “Jane Doe” (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed a lawsuit against HHS for equitable relief in the United States District Court for the District of...more