On October 8, U.S. District Judge George Steeh refused to grant an injunction that would prevent the implementation of the federal health reforms enacted through the Affordable Care Act. Judge Steeh also dismissed several substantive portions of the suit, determining that Congress did not exceed its constitutional authority by requiring…
In September the American Hospital Association (AHA) released its RACTrac for the second quarter of 2010. RACTrac is a nationwide survey conducted by the AHA which documents the ongoing Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) activity. The purpose of the survey is to fill the void of information provided by the Centers…
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently released Advisory Opinion 10-17 which deals with donations made as part of a private settlement agreement stemming from a Certificate of Need (CON) dispute. These donations, made to programs, which provide services to children and families, were deemed not to violate the…
Last week the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued two Advisory Opinions addressing proposed programs that could potentially implicate the anti-kickback statute and the imposition of civil monetary penalties (CMPs). The first OIG Advisory Opinion, 10-18, analyzed a proposed program by a health system which involved post-surgical free hotel accommodations…
On September 10, 2010, CMS released draft form CMS-10343, which will be used by state Medicaid plans to show that they have contracted with a RAC auditor. The forms are used in connection with preparation for Medicaid RAC expansion and include criteria related to payments to the Medicaid RAC and…
On September 23, 2010 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Medicare self-referral protocol (SRDP). The SRDP was established by sec. 6409 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which required the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Medicare self-referral program that affords providers of…
Recently the RAC for Region A, DCS Healthcare (DCS), added new issues for medical necessity reviews to its list of approved issues. DCS approved nine medical necessity issues, including Respiratory (limited to MS-DRG 190, 191, and 192), Gastro Intestinal Disorders (limited to MS-DRGs 391 and 393) and Diseases and Disorders…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule implementing provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that help tackle Medicare and Medicaid fraud. According to Peter Budetti, the Director of the new anti-fraud office at CMS, the proposed rules will provide federal authorities…
A manufacturer of cochlear implants (“Requestor”) inquired whether a Proposed Arrangement would violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and result in civil monetary penalties. The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) concluded that the Proposed Arrangement presents more than a minimal risk of violation…
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson indicated last Tuesday that he will likely allow a lawsuit to proceed that challenges the Constitutionality of the Healthcare Reform law. The lawsuit, filed by 20 states, the National Federation of Independent Business and two individuals, challenges whether the Constitution permits the federal government to…