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Overview and Executive Summary On Friday, December 21, 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) released an important proposed rule governing the secure disposal of unused controlled substances.  This rule (the “Proposed Rule”) was developed to implement provisions of the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 (“Disposal Act”) and proposes a number of... READ MORE

Fiscal Cliff Update Late last night, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) canceled the vote on his “Plan B” alternative to avoid part of the fiscal cliff set to take effect on January 1. Given the stalemate in negotiations, Congress is leaving town for the Christmas holiday and will reconvene on December 27.  Despite the setback,... READ MORE

On December 12, 2012, the Indiana Supreme Court issued four opinions related to the broad discretion of the trial court in awarding prejudgment interest. In Indiana, the Tort Prejudgment Interest Statute (“TPIS”) (or IC § 34-51-4-1 et. seq.), was enacted to “encourage settlement and to compensate the Plaintiff for the lost time value of... READ MORE

Executive Summary On December 19, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of  Inspector General (“OIG”) posted OIG Advisory Opinion 12-20 (the “AO”) permitting a hospital (the “Requestor”) to provide to physicians, free of charge, an electronic interface that would enable the physicians to transmit orders for lab and diagnostic services to... READ MORE

On December 19, 2012 the Department of Justice announced the owners and operators of two Miami health care agencies pleaded guilty for their participation in a $48 million home health Medicare fraud scheme.  According to plea documents, the owners conspired with patient recruiters for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for unnecessary home... READ MORE

Introduction On December 19, 2012, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a landmark decision holding that a self-pay or out-of-network patient who contractually agrees to pay “the account” for medical services rendered by a hospital, may be liable for rates as set by the hospital’s chargemaster.  The patient may not thereafter challenge the hospital’s billed... READ MORE

Executive Summary Under the Federal Stark Law, for calendar year 2013 hospitals may provide non-monetary compensation to physicians up to an aggregate amount of $380.  The dollar limit for “medical staff incidental benefits” (e.g., meals, parking, other items or incidental services that are used on the hospital’s campus) increases slightly for 2013 to less... READ MORE

On December 12, 2012 the FCC approved a report and order expanding the scope of the Universal Service Fund (“USF”).  The $400 million annual fund exists to bring telecommunication services to health care providers for the benefit of persons who reside in rural areas.  The FCC acted to revise the existing USF program by: READ MORE

CMS Rejects Partial Medicaid Expansion and Drops Support for a Medicaid “Blended Rate” On Monday, CMS announced that states who expand their Medicaid programs to less than 133% of the federal poverty level will not receive the higher federal matching funds set forth in the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).  The agency said that states... READ MORE