The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services’ most recent unfavorable Advisory Opinion is a stern reminder to healthcare organizations to consider the fraud and abuse risks of offering...more
On November 5, 2025, CMS published the CY 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (Final Rule), which includes changes to how drug manufacturers must treat Bona Fide Service Fees (BFSFs) in the context of Average Sales Price...more
Over the 2025 summer, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued four advisory opinions—two favorable and two unfavorable—that provide valuable guidance for medical device companies...more
9/24/2025
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Popular ,
Safe Harbors
As we discussed in a recently published post, the CY 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule (PFS Proposed Rule) introduces significant changes to how drug manufacturers must treat Bona Fide Service Fees (BFSFs) when...more
In a cautionary tale for health care entities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina recently announced the convictions of two health care executives who admitted to orchestrating a multi-year...more
9/10/2025
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
OIG ,
Popular
In the CY 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule (PFS Proposed Rule), released on July 14, 2025, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) introduced the Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM), a new...more
8/1/2025
/ Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Beneficiary Inducement ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) ,
CMMI ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Value-Based Payments
The CY 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule (PFS Proposed Rule) introduces significant changes to how drug manufacturers must treat Bona Fide Service Fees (BFSFs) when calculating Average Sales Price (ASP) for Medicare...more
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) recently announced a six-year payment model for 2026-2031 called the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model. WISeR will test the use of artificial...more
On June 11, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a favorable advisory opinion on a proposed arrangement where a physician practice managed by a management services...more
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) recently announced a new strategic direction during a public webinar and accompanying white paper, outlining its evolving priorities under the current administration....more
On May 14, 2025, Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center d/b/a Community Health System (CHS) and its technology partner, Physicians Network Advantage, Inc. (PNA), agreed to pay $31.5 million (the Settlement Agreement)...more
The pharmaceutical and medical device industries have long utilized speaker programs, which typically involve retaining health care professionals to speak or present on the companies’ products to educate their peers. Speaker...more
The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) recently issued a favorable Advisory Opinion on a proposed arrangement by a community health center (Health Center) designated under...more
In the latest episode of Health Law Diagnosed, host Of Counsel Bridgette Keller invites the Mintz Health Law team to reflect on what they’re grateful for as they prepare for the year ahead.
Hear from a dynamic group of...more
In the latest episode of Health Law Diagnosed, host Of Counsel Bridgette Keller invites the Mintz Health Law team to reflect on what they’re grateful for as they prepare for the year ahead....more
In our annual report, we examine health care enforcement trends, predict how health care enforcement may evolve, and offer practical guidance about what these trends and predictions mean for health care providers, payors, and...more
In 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolved several noteworthy False Claims Act (FCA) cases against hospitals and health systems. In particular, DOJ obtained a number of large recoveries in cases where Stark Law and...more
1/17/2025
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Bills ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Stark Law
As part of its Modernization Initiative, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published its first industry-segment specific Compliance Program Guidance, which focuses on...more
12/17/2024
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Billing ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Healthcare ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a complaint against Erlanger Health System (Erlanger), a county-owned public health system, and two of its Tennessee hospitals alleging that the health system systemically...more
8/14/2024
/ Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fair Market Value ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Stark Law
On July 8, 2024, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) updated its General Questions on Fraud and Abuse Authorities (FAQs) related to the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Beneficiary Inducement Prohibition of Civil...more
A Virginia Federal Judge recently rejected a challenge to a negative Advisory Opinion issued by the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) that disapproved of a proposal where certain...more
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) started 2024 with a flurry of activity by issuing four new Advisory Opinions on January 3, 2024. In one of these Advisory Opinions, the OIG approved a vendor’s referral program that...more
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a General Compliance Program Guidance (GCPG) on November 6, 2023, marking the first update to OIG’s compliance program guidance...more
11/13/2023
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Health Care Programs (FHCP) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Incentives ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
New Guidance ,
OIG ,
Request For Information ,
Risk Assessment
In coordination with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) proposed a...more
11/7/2023
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
ACOs ,
Appeals ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Critical Access Hospitals ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Investigations ,
Medicare Shared Savings Program ,
OIG ,
ONC ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Social Security Act
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) rejected a manufacturer’s proposal to provide free hearing aids to certain patients if they receive one of the...more