A recent Advisory Opinion (No. 23-15) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that a healthcare consulting company’s plan to offer gift cards to physician practices...more
Designed for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, this newsletter seeks to bring you up to speed on key federal and state False Claims Act (FCA) developments, with links to primary resources. Each quarter, we...more
In Advisory Opinion 22-17, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that a proposed restructuring of a loan and other contractual relationships between a health system...more
A recent settlement involving a Medicare Advantage plan should serve as a reminder that the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) is broad and far-reaching, both on its face and in practice. On July 1, 2022, the U.S. Department...more
In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the business opportunities available to clinical labs, including molecular and respiratory labs. As the nation—and the world—struggled to develop adequate testing infrastructure,...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Flower Mound Hospital Partners LLC, a partially physician-owned hospital in Flower Mound, Texas, agreed to pay $18.2 million to settle its alleged violations of the False...more
On April 26, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued favorable Advisory Opinion No. 21-02 regarding a proposed investment in an ambulatory surgery center (“ASC”) by a...more
Along with proposed Stark Law exceptions designed to accommodate value-based care models, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS or the agency) adopted additional revisions to the Stark Law regulations (the final...more
On October 9, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ("CMS") and Office of Inspector General ("OIG"), respectively, published proposed rules updating the long-standing physician...more
Along with proposed Stark Law exceptions designed to accommodate value-based care models, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS or the agency) proposed additional revisions to the Stark Law regulations (the...more
Unless structured properly, a hospital’s financial relationship with referring physicians or other providers may violate the federal Ethics in Patient Referrals Act (“Stark”) and Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”), resulting in...more
Federal scrutiny of charities that assist patients with accessing prescription drugs has increased with rising prescription drug prices. Some prescription drug charities receive funding from medical providers or drug...more
In a recent case Hebrew Homes Health Network, Inc. and its former president and executive Director agreed to pay $17 million to settle allegations that Hebrew Homes violated the federal anti-kickback statute. According to the...more
Last week, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services published Advisory Opinion 15-10 (Opinion). The Opinion addressed a hospital system’s proposal to lease non-clinician employees...more
On June 9, 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General issued a new Fraud Alert entitled "Physician Compensation Arrangements May Result in Significant Liability" (Alert) in the wake of 12...more
The HHS OIG recently issued a brief fraud alert (Fraud Alert) reminding physicians that inappropriate compensation arrangements may lead to enforcement actions under the federal anti-kickback statute and Civil Monetary...more
On June 9, 2015, the Office of Inspector General ("OIG") of the Department of Health & Human Services issued a Fraud Alert reprising a familiar theme: ensuring that physician compensation arrangements comply with the...more
On August 15, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a “negative” opinion regarding a specialty pharmacy’s proposal to pay a per-fill fee to local pharmacies for support...more
In This Issue: - Federal Updates - State Updates - HIPAA Updates - Excerpt from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Issues Guidance for Meaningful Use Hardship Exception: The Centers...more