In U.S. ex rel. Wolfson v. Park Avenue Medical Associates, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York entered into a $1 million False Claims Act settlement against three related companies for improperly billing Medicare for behavioral health services. The settlement agreement provided that the defendants “admit, acknowledge and accept responsibility
A bill proposed in the US House of Representatives may cause physicians to significantly restructure their practices as they relate to in-office ancillary services (IOAS).
Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act of 2013
The Stark Law is a federal statute which prohibits physicians from making referrals for Medicare-covered designated health services (DHS) to an entity with
New York Health Law Blog contributor and Farrell Fritz associate Veronique Urban and bankruptcy partner Ted Berkowitz take a close look at the Peninsula Hospital Center bankruptcy in the September 2013 American Bankruptcy Institute Journal. Peninsula Hospital’s bankruptcy case illustrates the various elements that make health care and hospital bankruptcy cases so different from other
Earlier this month, a bill to amend the False Claims Act (“FCA”), the “Fairness in Health Care Claims, Guidance and Investigations Act,” was introduced in the House of Representatives. According to one of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), the bill’s purpose is to ensure that unintentional billing disputes are not penalized as
Is your office photocopy machine a HIPAA time-bomb? Affinity Health Plan recently learned that the answer is yes, to the tune of a $1.2 million settlement with the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Affinity is a not-for-profit managed care organization which includes one of the New York metropolitan
On May 29, 2013, the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury issued final regulations regarding wellness programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). Wellness programs are programs offered by employers, or directly by insurance companies to their enrollees, to improve health and promote fitness. The ACA, in
Senator Kemp Hannon, Chair of the New York State Senate Committee on Health (and counsel at Farrell Fritz), will be hosting a health care forum featuring a presentation by State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson. The event will take place on Monday, August 5 from 10:00 am to noon at the Hofstra University Student Center Theatre.
The New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General today announced their new Facebook page. This could be the only time anyone in the health care industry might consider a declaration that they “like” the OMIG.
While a Facebook page may appear unusual for this less-than-beloved agency, the OMIG’s office has made several
The Office for Civil Rights of the US Department of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (“WEDI”), has announced a series of four free webinars on compliance with the latest Omnibus HIPAA/HITECH final rule, which implements significant changes in the requirements imposed upon health care organizations, providers, and
Over fifty cases across the country have challenged regulations promulgated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA” or “Obamacare”) that require employer group health insurance plans to provide coverage for contraception, sterilization and related counseling (the “HHS Mandate”). Suits have been filed by religiously-affiliated organizations as well as private business owners, asserting that