It is no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has driven our daily lives digital—work, education, social gatherings, and, of course, health care. Congress and CMS responded to the public health emergency by waiving limitations on reimbursement for telehealth services rendered to Medicare patients. These waivers introduced new flexibility and vastly expanded Medicare patients’ access to … Continue Reading
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released complementary rules this past Friday, November 20, 2020, to modernize and clarify the regulations that interpret the Physician Self-Referral Law (the Stark Law) and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. As we wrote when the proposed rules were released last autumn (see client alerts here and here), the … Continue Reading
Earlier this month and with little fanfare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would invoke CMS’s rarely used retroactive-rulemaking authority to essentially ensure that, despite the Supreme Court’s adverse rulemaking decision in Azar v. Allina Health Services, 139 S. Ct. 1804 (2019), CMS will apply the same Medicare … Continue Reading
The much-anticipated final rules modernizing the safe harbors under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the physician self-referral exceptions under the Stark Law are officially under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) anticipates publishing the final rules in August 2020, although that target date is … Continue Reading
As discussed in our client alert, recent legal developments have greatly expanded funding for and access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 crisis. Among the changes instituted by HHS are expanded Medicare coverage and payment for services, reduced or waived cost-sharing obligations for physicians, and loosening of the HIPAA enforcement policies for covered entities (which … Continue Reading
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a draft guidance for state survey agencies on May 3, 2019, impacting hospitals that share space, staff, and/or services with another co-located hospital or health care entity. The draft builds on informally followed principles by CMS employees which emphasized that certain payment rules, like those for … Continue Reading
The Reed Smith Life Sciences Health Industry Group will be hosting an upcoming CLE webinar “Telehealth Policy Update: Keep Calm, Changes Are Coming” on June 8, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. PT and 1:00 p.m. ET. Reed Smith presenters Paul Pitts and Trey Andrews will be discussing recently adopted and proposed changes to state and federal … Continue Reading
On November 16, 2016, CMS published Medicare Part A and B beneficiary cost sharing amounts for 2016. With regard to Part A, the 2016 deductible for hospital inpatient admissions for the first 60 days of care will be $1,288, followed by $322 per day for days 61-90 and $644 per day for stays beyond the … Continue Reading
CMS has published its annual notice announcing states’ final allotments available to pay the Medicare Part B premiums for Qualifying Individuals (QIs) for fiscal year (FY) 2013 and the preliminary QI allotments for FY 2014. … Continue Reading
Today President Obama signed into law H.R. 2, the "Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015" (MACRA), which reforms Medicare payment policy for physician services and adopts a series of policy changes affecting a wide range of providers and suppliers. Most notably, MACRA permanently repeals the statutory Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, achieving a goal that has eluded Congress for years. Now, after a period of stable payment updates, MACRA will link physician payment updates to quality, value measurements, and participation in alternative payment models.… Continue Reading
The OIG has issued a report on its findings that Medicare in some cases continued to make payments to physicians who have delinquent Medicare debts that have been referred to Treasury for collection. For instance, CMS paid a total of $10.7 million to 23 individual physicians who collectively owed CMS a total of $8.84 million. … Continue Reading
On February 2, 2015, the Obama Administration released its proposed federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The budget would impact all types of health care providers, health plans, and drug manufacturers if adopted as proposed – which is unlikely given Republican control of the House and Senate. Nevertheless, Congress can be expected to consider … Continue Reading
CMS has released the Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible and hospital and extended care services coinsurance amounts for 2015. Specifically, the 2015 Part A deductible for hospital inpatient admissions for the first 60 days of care will be $1,260, followed by $315 per day for days 61-90 and $630 per day for stays beyond … Continue Reading
CMS has published corrections to its August 22, 2014 final update to the Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System for FY 2015. Among other things, CMS made technical errors in its calculation of the operating and capital IPPS budget neutrality factors, outlier threshold, operating standardized amounts, … Continue Reading
CMS has published a final rule that updates prospective payment rates for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) for FY 2015. Under the final rule, the federal per diem base rate will be increased by 2.1%, reflecting a market basket increase of 2.9%, offset by a 0.3 percentage point reduction and … Continue Reading
CMS has announced a new “Medicare Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG) Demonstration” that will evaluate the potential benefits of providing payment for items and services needed for in-home administration of IVIG for the treatment of primary immune deficiency disease (PIDD). Under this demonstration, which will last three years, Medicare will provide a bundled Part B payment … Continue Reading
On June 13, 2014, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its June 2014 Report to the Congress on Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System. Among other things, MedPAC addresses ways to align Medicare fee-for-service (FFS), Medicare Advantage, and accountable care organization policies on payment, risk adjustment, and quality measurement. MedPAC also discusses various … Continue Reading
On the heels of its proposed rule to expand its health program exclusion authority, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services has published a proposed rule that would amend the health care program civil monetary penalty (CMP) regulations. The rule would codify the OIG's expanded statutory authority under the Affordable Care Act to impose CMPs on providers and suppliers and would allow for significant penalties in a variety of scenarios, some of which could extend beyond what is currently permitted.
Reed Smith attorneys have prepared a Client Alert summarizing and analyzing the OIG's proposed rule, including the various scenarios under which CMPs could be issued under the proposed regulations, such as: failure to report and return an overpayment; failure to grant OIG timely access to records upon request; ordering or prescribing items or services while excluded from a federal health care program, as well as arranging or contracting with an individual or entity who meets this criteria; making false statements or omitting or misrepresenting material facts in an application, bid, or contract; and failing to submit or certify drug-pricing and product information in a timely manner. In addition, the alert covers the changes in technical language proposed by OIG to clarify and more clearly define the scope of CMP regulations.… Continue Reading
In early April, Reed Smith hosted an enlightening conference entitled "Reed Smith 2014 Washington Health Care Conference: Focus on Post-Acute Care" in Washington, D.C. The conference brought together a panel of experts to discuss episodic care, bundling models, and alternative payment and delivery systems, as well as other speakers to present from the perspective of investors and Capitol Hill. The conference was capped with a stimulating keynote address from American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Dr. Norman Ornstein on the current polarized nature of American politics, particularly in regards to national health policy.… Continue Reading
CMS is instructing Medicare providers and suppliers that the updated version of the Medicare claim form (CMS 1500 form version 02/12) must be used for all Medicare paper claims received on and after April 1, 2014. The new form includes indicators to differentiate between ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, identifies whether certain providers have performed an … Continue Reading
This post was written by Nancy Sheliga. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report examining the effect of prior health insurance coverage on Medicare beneficiaries. The report specifically focuses on the health status, program spending, and use of services by Medicare beneficiaries with and without continuous health insurance coverage before Medicare enrollment. According to … Continue Reading
Citing a “rapid and overwhelming increase in claim appeals,” the HHS Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) has temporarily suspended the assignment of most new provider requests for an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing. In a memorandum to high-volume appellants dated December 24, 2013, Chief ALJ Nancy Griswold announced that the suspension, which was … Continue Reading
The OIG has issued a report focusing on individual clinicians who generated high cumulative Medicare Part B payments (defined for purposes of this report as more than $3 million in Part B services) in 2009. Out of 303 such clinicians identified by the OIG, 34% had been identified for improper payment reviews, and as of … Continue Reading
On January 9, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is holding a hearing on “The Extenders Policies: What Are They and How Should They Continue Under a Permanent SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) Repeal Landscape?” The so-called extenders are measures that secure the continuation of various temporary Medicare payment and policy revisions impacting hospitals, … Continue Reading
