On November 20, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule “Modernizing and Clarifying the Physician Self-Referral Regulations” (Final Rule)....more
On November 20, 2020 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued two final rules to modernize and clarify the Physician...more
This Client Alert serves as the second in a three-part series in which we describe and analyze the rules proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) as part of its...more
Key Points - On October 17, 2019, the OIG proposed rules to add safe harbor protections for coordinated care and associated value-based arrangements. - The OIG proposed several new safe harbors: value-based...more
The U.S. healthcare industry remains at a crossroads. The healthcare reform legislation passed under President Barack Obama in 2010, officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) but widely referred...more
On July 29, 2019, CMS released the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule (the Proposed Rule). The Proposed Rule updates payment policies, payment rates, and quality provisions for services...more
On November 1, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2019 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (PFS Rule), which contains a number of significant substantive changes to Medicare payment practices...more
August 24, 2018 marked a busy day for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' (HHS) self-designated "Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care," an initiative aimed at dismantling the regulatory barriers to providers...more
Regulation - CMS Contemplating Telemedicine Changes - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published what it described as a "major proposed rule" that covers a number of topics that could have...more
On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a wide-ranging request for information (RFI) seeking ideas on how it might add or modify safe harbors to the...more
On June 25, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published in the Federal Register a “request for information” regarding potential reforms to the federal physician self-referral law (or the “Stark Law”). ...more
As the healthcare industry moves towards value-based purchasing, pay-for-performance, and other payment reform models, industry leaders have identified federal fraud and abuse laws as a barrier to full implementation of such...more
We are pleased to present our annual review of developments in the field of health law. The year was marked by key changes in False Claims Act jurisprudence and Medicare payment policy. 2016 also brought with it focused...more
McCarter & English, LLP’s Health Care Group presents Issue 13 of the Health Law Insights, which discusses the latest legal issues in the health care industry. - Failure to Update Business Associate Agreement Results in...more
On July 7, 2016, CMS issued a proposed rule that updates payment policies, payment rates, and quality provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) on or after January 1, 2017 (Proposed...more
Nearly four years after introducing waivers to certain fraud and abuse laws for Accountable Care Organizations (“ACOs”) and other entities participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (“MSSP”), the Centers for...more
Nearly four years after publishing their joint interim final rule with comment period, effective November 2, 2011 (IFC), the OIG and CMS (Agencies) have finalized the waivers of various fraud and abuse laws in the context of...more
On Thursday, October 29, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) jointly issued a rule (the “Final Rule”) to finalize five (5) waivers of certain fraud and abuse...more
CMS Releases 2014 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) Results - On August 25, 2015, CMS issued its 2014 quality and financial performance results for 20 ACOs in the Pioneer ACO Model and 333 Medicare Shared Savings Program...more
The federal physician self-referral ban or Stark law has been a part of the legal landscape for almost 25 years. The breadth of the law’s prohibitions, its strict liability formulation and draconian remedies have made it the...more
On July 8, 2015, CMS issued its annual proposed rule outlining payment policies, payment rates, and quality provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) for CY 2016. In the proposed rule,...more
The proposed Physician Fee Schedule for 2016 [PDF] contains several provisions that are likely to have an impact on the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). These provisions focus in large part on quality measures and the...more
Each year brings significant changes and challenges in the laws governing the health care industry, and 2014 proved to be no exception. What the year may have lacked in the high drama that accompanies comprehensive health...more
Avoiding the Regulatory Land Mines of Commercial ACOs - While providers are showing great interest in creating ACOs to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), they are showing even greater enthusiasm...more