Hospitals and other health care providers struggle to attract and maintain clinical staff due to staffing shortages. While several factors contribute to the staffing shortage including an aging patient population and longer...more
We asked for tips people would give to their younger selves. 1. The best advice I can share came from my daughter Stella Kate recently. When a particularly difficult case took many unexpected twists and turns, Stella calmly...more
A federally qualified health center (FQHC) received the go-ahead of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to offer $20 gift cards as one-time incentives for pediatric patients who have previously missed at least two care...more
Over the last 50 years, the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) has evolved from a controversial therapy on the outskirts of accepted medical practice and drug abuse prevention strategy to...more
The CMS Proposed Rule to update the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for Calendar Year 2021, published in the Federal Register on August 17, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 50074), proposes several updates to Medicare payment regulations...more
The OIG has indicated concern that patients suffering from opioid use disorder may experience difficulty accessing medication-assisted treatment (MAT), resulting in under-utilization of this intervention that offers what the...more
7/25/2020
/ Audits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ,
OIG ,
Opioid ,
SAMHSA ,
Substance Abuse ,
Waivers ,
Work Plans
Congress significantly eased restrictions on disclosing information that identifies substance use disorder (SUD) patients, while simultaneously strengthening protection for SUD patients from discrimination and liability based...more
A waiver granted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) may provide a solution for long term care providers with opioid-addicted residents who are unable to access medication-assisted treatment (MAT) due to...more
As federal agencies scramble to provide regulatory relief from the fall-out of the coronavirus pandemic taking hold in the United States, several waivers and bulletins provide guidance specifically applicable to substance use...more
The OIG added five new items to its Work Plan in the October 2018 update: (1) childcare provider compliance with criminal background check requirements; (2) early results from Opioid State Targeted Response Grants; (3)...more
10/29/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Child Care ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Federal Grants ,
Foster Children ,
Health Care Providers ,
MCOs ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Medicare Beneficiaries ,
OIG ,
Opioid ,
Prisoners ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SAMHSA ,
Work Plans
A group of six government-operated fire departments has received a green light from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to enter into a mutual aid agreement to provide backup emergency ambulance services and to bill for...more
8/31/2018
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Ambulance Providers ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Fire Departments ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Remuneration ,
Safe Harbors ,
Waivers
The OIG added four items to its Work Plan with the November 2017 update, as listed on the chart below. Interestingly, three of the four new items relate to Medicaid. Hot topics include prescriptions for extreme amounts of...more
A clinical laboratory has received a green light from CMS to offer pop-up notifications alerting physicians of various potential issues (Laboratory Alerts) through its web-based portal for ordering and reporting results of...more
10/23/2017
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Health Care Providers ,
OIG ,
Physician Compensation Arrangements ,
Physicians ,
Portal ,
Remuneration ,
Risk Alert ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law