HIPAA Final Omnibus Rule Brings “Sweeping Changes” to the Health Care Industry
The long wait for the HIPAA Final Omnibus Rule is finally over, and it covers a broad range of HIPAA issues, including: The Breach Notification Rule; The HIPAA Enforcement Rule, implementing changes...
View ArticleSenator Hatch’s 5 Ideas to Reduce Federal Health Care Spending
Senator Orrin Hatch spoke on the floor of the Senate at the end of last week about the need for health entitlement reforms to be part of a deficit reduction package. As Ranking Member of the Senate...
View ArticleAlabama False Claims Act Legislation – Cause for Concern for Businesses in...
Alabama State Senator Arthur Orr introduced a bill last week that would establish a State False Claims Act, which would authorize private parties to file actions on behalf of the State as qui tam...
View ArticlePhysician – Hospital Integration: Strong Governance Model Key To Long-Term...
During the course of an integration negotiation, both hospital executives and physicians focus much of their attention on financial matters, and perhaps rightfully so. However, a strong governance...
View ArticleIRS Issues Proposed Regulations on Section 501(r) Community Health Needs...
Section 501(r) was added to the Internal Revenue Code by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in order to expand and clarify the federal requirements for tax-exempt hospitals by establishing...
View ArticleOIG Releases Updated Self-Disclosure Protocol
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an updated provider self-disclosure protocol (SDP) last week, which replaces the original SDP issued in 1998 and various OIG Open Letters that provided...
View ArticleEffective Compliance Plans: Have they ever been more important to your...
Last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had entered into a $25.5 million settlement with Intermountain Health Care, Inc. (Intermountain), Utah’s largest health system with 22...
View ArticleAvoiding CMP Liability: Don’t Let Excluded Persons Trip You Up
The OIG released the Updated Special Advisory Bulletin on the Effect of Exclusion from Participation in the Federal Health Care Programs last week. The prior Bulletin from 1999 left many unanswered...
View ArticleHealth Data – The Newest Platform for Innovation
In a New York Times column, Obamacare’s Other Surprise, Thomas L. Friedman wrote that health data is “creating a new marketplace and platform for innovation – a health care Silicon Valley – that has...
View ArticleProviders Get Short Reprieve on New CMS Two-Midnight Rule on Hospital Stays
The new CMS “Two-Midnight Rule,” which is intended to provide greater clarity regarding when inpatient hospital admissions are generally appropriate for Medicare Part A payment, goes into effect today....
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