Physician Compensation and Reimbursement
Polsinelli Podcast - Health Care Payment Changes: From Service to Value
On Oct. 25, 2023, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued an unfavorable opinion in response to a manufacturer’s proposal to offer and provide a free compatible...more
2022 was an eventful year on the 340B front, packed with updates to consequential litigation, proposed new rules, ongoing uncertainty into the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) underlying enforcement...more
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected today to pass legislation passed by the U.S. Senate that will significantly alter the landscape for pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement under the Medicare program for certain...more
On September 9, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") released its widely anticipated "Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices." The HHS report supports far-reaching legislative and...more
The last two weeks of June saw several key developments affecting the 340B Drug Pricing Program—a federal government program created in 1992 that requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to eligible...more
The Situation: Manufacturers of allergenic extracts that are injected into a patient must obtain a Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") approved license in order to ensure their products are safe for consumption. Until the...more
The Situation: The Supreme Court's ruling in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016), opened the door to more materiality defenses under the False Claims Act ("FCA"), but without making...more
Through a January 9, 2020, press release, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) reported more than $3 billion in total recoveries from settlements and judgments from fraud-related civil matters brought under the False Claims Act...more
Information Collection Request. On November 27, 2019, 340B Health, a nonprofit membership organization comprised of hospitals and health systems that participate in the federal 340B drug pricing program (“340B Program”),...more
On February 19, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had intervened in a False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower suit filed against Arriva Medical LLC (Arriva) and its parent that allegedly involves the...more
A LOOK BACK.... A LOOK AHEAD - Perhaps the single most appropriate word to describe the current state of the civil and criminal healthcare fraud enforcement environment is uncertainty. From changes in personnel and policy...more
On December 27, 2018, the District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision in American Hospital Association, et al. v. Azar, No.18-2084(RC) (D.D.C. December 27, 2018), holding that the cuts imposed by the...more
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a new proposed reimbursement model for certain Medicare Part B drugs and biologicals. • The proposed structure, called the International Pricing Index (IPI)...more
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the Calendar Year (CY) 2019 Final Rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), which includes provisions related to Medicare physician payments as well...more
On October 25, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) describing a potential mandatory model to test Medicare reimbursement based on an "International...more
President Trump yesterday touted “bold” plans to lower drug prices in unspecific terms. Simultaneously, CMS issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANRPM), describing options to test Medicare reimbursement based on...more
Timing is everything. In yesterday’s post on 340B, I stated in closing: There is still one more shoe to drop. On May 4, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the expedited appeal of American Hospital...more
There are now multiple proposals in the House and Senate for substantive changes to the 340B Drug Discount Program. The odds of a legislative “fix” to 340B are increasing. But independent of congressional action, is CMS...more
In January 2018, in the wake of the publication of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Review of the 340B Drug Discount Program, I wrote that it was too soon to know whether 2018 will be a game-changing year for the...more
We expect 2018 to be another year of rapid change within the health care industry. In this episode, Mary Beth Johnston highlights some of the key topics that the health care practice group will monitor in the coming year,...more
On Feb. 9, 2018, the Trump Administration released a 30-page report analyzing domestic and global factors influencing drug pricing. The report by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is expected to inform the HHS' Fiscal...more
On January 19, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling granting summary judgment to a specialty pharmacy that was accused of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and...more
The Situation: A Final Rule published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services carries a provision that reduces reimbursement for most 340B Program drugs dispensed by disproportionate share hospitals and rural referral...more
Earlier this month the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Government Oversight and Investigations held its second hearing on the 340B Drug Discount Program. The hearing followed on the heels of a July 18th...more
In May 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit relied on the “heightened materiality standard” endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 2016 Escobar decision in dismissing a False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower...more