In 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) provided useful insights to the healthcare industry regarding how it approaches various fraud and abuse issues in an...more
2/7/2025
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Billing ,
Compliance ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
OIG ,
Risk Management ,
Settlement ,
Stark Law ,
Telehealth
On December 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published revised regulations implementing the so-called 60-day rule, under which healthcare providers and other parties generally must report and return any...more
On December 11, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert (SFA) on what it refers to as “suspect” marketing schemes involving “questionable payments and...more
Although the U.S. healthcare industry has weathered the storm over the past couple of years, we may be reaching calmer waters in the coming months. Dry powder held by U.S. private equity investors has reached an all-time...more
8/15/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Request For Information ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation
On July 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed to extend virtual direct supervision—i.e., the ability to provide direct supervision through real-time, audio-visual technology (rather than in-person...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the ACO Primary Care Flex Model (ACO PC Flex Model or Model), a new voluntary payment model for primary care furnished through low-revenue Accountable Care...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is tasked with providing objective oversight to protect the integrity and promote the efficiency of Medicare, Medicaid, and more than...more
2/1/2024
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
New Guidance ,
OIG ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telehealth
On January 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) published Advisory Opinion No. 23-12, approving a physician-owned hospital’s offer to redeem over a two-year period the...more
1/10/2024
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
OIG ,
Ownership Interest ,
Partnership Agreements ,
Physician-Owned Hospitals ,
Remuneration ,
Retirement ,
Stark Law
On November 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended virtual direct supervision—i.e., the ability to provide direct supervision through real-time, audio-visual technology (rather than in-person presence)...more
11/8/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicare ,
New Regulations ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telehealth
On October 13, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued Advisory Opinion 23-07, approving a physician practice’s proposal to pay its physician-employees a portion of the...more
10/19/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Profits ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Safe Harbors
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued Advisory Opinion 23-04, approving the per-booking fees healthcare providers pay a technology company for each new patient who...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published updated data regarding settlements made under the Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP), an important mechanism through which providers may...more
With the May 11, 2023 expiration of the federal public health emergency (PHE) for COVID-19, many operational flexibilities healthcare providers used during the PHE will now sunset. Some flexibilities end immediately while...more
5/12/2023
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Billing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Remote Working ,
Supervision
Nearly 25 years ago, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created a regulatory safe harbor to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) for physician investment in...more
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continues to offer valuable insights to the healthcare industry as to how best to approach increasingly complex healthcare fraud...more
4/11/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Request For Information ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Telemedicine ,
Wellness Programs
On March 23, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new, expanded frequently asked questions (FAQs) process. Although OIG has long maintained FAQs on...more
On January 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released revisions to its Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP), an important mechanism through which providers may disclose actual or potential...more
On July 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Calendar Year 2023 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Payment System proposed rule...more
7/25/2022
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
Exceptions ,
Hospitals ,
Investment ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Payment Systems ,
Physician Ownership ,
Physicians ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law
On April 28, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published Advisory Opinion 22-09, declining to approve a laboratory company’s proposal to pay hospitals a fair market...more
5/6/2022
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Market Value ,
Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Kickbacks ,
OIG ,
Pay-Per-Click ,
Payment Services Directive ,
Remuneration ,
Risk Factors