On March 15, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will increase the amount Medicare pays providers for administering the COVID-19 vaccine. For vaccines administered on or after March 15, 2021, the new national average payment rate for physicians, pharmacies, hospitals, and other providers who administer…
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, a legislative package to help fund vaccinations, provide immediate relief to families during the COVID-19 pandemic, increase COVID-19 testing and identify new and emerging strains of COVID-19. The final bill includes several sources of funding for COVID-19…
On December 16, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it would begin Phase 3 of general distributions under the Provider Relief Fund (“PRF”) and that Phase 3 would be larger than initially planned. The PRF is a $175 billion fund created Congress through the CARES…
Wachler & Associates is pleased to announce the appointment of two of our attorneys to leadership roles within the American Bar Association’s Health Law Section. Amy K. Fehn will serve as Vice Chair of three ABA Health Law Sections, including the Health Law and Policy Coordinating Committee, the ABA Health…
Michigan Lawyers Weekly, an independent newspaper that covers the legal profession in the State of Michigan, recently quoted Wachler & Associates partner Amy K. Fehn on the use of blogs by law firms. The article, “Blogging: Making the words work,” surveyed legal experts from around the state on the proper…
This Thursday, February 21, 2013, Wachler & Associate’s Founder, Andrew Wachler, will present Medicare Appeals & Reimbursement Impacted by New OIG Report for the RAC University’s Live Webcast. Recently, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled Improvements are Needed at the Amdministrative Law Judge Level of Appeal.…
Wachler & Associates partner, Amy K. Fehn, was recently quoted in Home Health Line regarding an agency’s liability for a business associate’s HIPAA violations. She explains that even though business associates are separately liable for HIPAA violations, an agency will also be liable for the business associate’s noncompliance. An agency…
Last year, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) suspended 139 doctors following an investigation into the practices of the Arora Board Review test-prep company. ABIM claimed that the doctors violated ethical and conduct standards by providing test questions to the company. Wachler & Associates represented over 40 doctors that…
Andrew Wachler, principal of Wachler & Associates, P.C., was quoted in last week’s American Medical News article regarding the National Practitioner Data Bank’s move to shut down public access to anonymous information about physician activities. The move was made to protect physician confidentiality after a reporter was able to identify…
If the rumors are true, tomorrow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Trade Commission will be releasing voluminous regulations governing the formation of Accountable Care Organizations (“ACO”) and the Medicare Shared Savings Program. But before we receive all the minutiae…