Articles and Blogs

House Committees Advance Pelosi Drug Plan Thursday was a busy day in Washington as the lower chamber tackled drug pricing legislation. The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced (30-22) an updated version (H.R. 3) of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing reform package and the House Education and Labor Committee also passed it on... READ MORE

NATIONAL Here’s 26 facts you might not know about how hospitals operated 100 years ago HHS may make changes to Stark Law, anti-kickback rules: 5 details More states exit Healthcare.gov to run their own insurance marketplaces The key to streamlined care transitions? Interfacility relationships, according to 2 health IT experts MGMA 2019: Making the... READ MORE

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) is revising its Nursing Home Compare Five-Star Quality Rating System to add a red alert icon to a skilled nursing facility’s profile if the facility has had a high-level abuse citation and/or repeat abuse citations. Changes to CMS Nursing Home Compare Website On October 7, 2019, CMS... READ MORE

NATIONAL What ‘Significant’ AseraCare Ruling Means for Home Health Providers State-by-state breakdown of new ASCs in 2019 so far Is Walmart Setting Its Sights on the Healthcare Market? Researchers tackle data breaches that threaten healthcare 25% of total US health care spending estimated to be waste HHS releases regulations to overhaul the Stark Law... READ MORE

On September 6, 2019, OIG issued Advisory Opinion No. 19-05 (“the Opinion”) regarding the proposed purchase of real estate from an entity owned and managed, in part, by an excluded individual. The facts that gave rise to the Opinion involved a community health center receiving federal grant funding and Medicare reimbursement which was looking... READ MORE

On October 9, 2019, both the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued proposed rules pertaining to the Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbor and Civil Monetary Penalties Law exception for EHR Donations (“EHR Donation Rules”), as well as a new safe harbor and exception... READ MORE

On October 9, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a much anticipated proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) aimed at modernizing and streamlining the Federal Stark Regulations. The Proposed Rule is one component of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently launched “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care” and is intended... READ MORE

On October 9, 2019, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released a proposed rule pertaining to various Anti-Kickback Statute and Civil Monetary Penalties Law new regulations and modifications (“Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule is one component of the Department of Health and Human Services’s (“HHS’s”) recently launched “Regulatory Sprint to... READ MORE

With the October 1, 2019 beginning date now past for Patient Driven Payment Model (“PDPM”), the new skilled nursing case-mix classification mode under the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (“SNF PPS”) for classifying SNF patients in a covered Medicare Part A stay, providers need to consider several key legal and compliance program considerations... READ MORE

On September 30, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published notice of a proposed survey (“Survey”) of drug acquisition costs for all hospitals participating in the 340B drug discount program (“340B Program”). The Survey would require reporting of acquisition cost data on 340B discounted drugs, referred to as specified covered outpatient... READ MORE