On October 31, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY 2015 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule. The rule included several important changes as it relates to telehealth services. With respect to reimbursement rates, in the final rule CMS increased Medicare payments to telehealth originating sites…
On October 30, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its final rule regarding changes to the Medicare home health care prospective payment system. The changes, which are set to go into effect in calendar year 2015, will reduce payments to home health agencies (HHAs) by approximately…
On October 29th, the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) hosted its second Appellant Forum in Washington, D.C. OMHA is responsible for the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) level of the Medicare administrative process, and thus operates the third level of appeals for Medicare audit denials. The Appellant Forum was…
On October 17, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) extended its interim final rule regarding fraud and abuse waivers for accountable care organizations (ACOs) that participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The Medicare Shared Savings Program was one of the initial steps taken under the Affordable…
On October 6, 2014, the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act) was signed into law. The bill moved swiftly through both houses due to its joint development by the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. The Post-Acute Care (PAC) community also voiced…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a proposed rule that affects providers and suppliers seeking to comply with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) provisions. The proposed rule alters existing safe harbors, codifies statutory changes, and…
On September 9, Linda Sanches, the Senior Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) warned that Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) audits are forthcoming. Speaking at the HIMSS Privacy and Security Forum in Boston, Sanches cautioned attendees that the best…
On September 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) held a Hospital & Hospital Quality Open Door Forum on a variety of topics pertinent to hospitals. CMS opened the forum with an unexpected update on CMS’ recently announced 68% settlement offer for patient status claim denials. As many…
In September 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released guidance to assist covered entities in understanding their obligations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule in light of the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor.…
CMS recently announced that it will soon be adding additional star ratings to the Medicare.gov website by 2015. CMS has already implemented the star rating system to provide consumers quality and safety information regarding nursing homes and physician groups on a five-star scale. The system is supposed to allow consumers…