Articles and Blogs

House Committee Pushes Renewal of Health Programs, Debates Medicaid DSH Cuts The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee considered twelve health care-related bills in a hearing this week. Eleven of the bills renew funding for community health centers, doctor training programs and other public health initiatives which have funding authorizations that expire at the... READ MORE

NATIONAL They get around: How hospital leaders keep fingers on workplace pulse Hospital boards seeing low turnover rates, AHA finds New MGMA Research Finds Physician Compensation on the Rise Indiana EHR provider agrees to $900K HIPAA violation settlement with 16 states HHS looking to add innovation accelerators to drive network Safety-net hospitals faced higher... READ MORE

On May 1, 2019, the Michigan Medical Service Administration of the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (“MDHHS”) issued Bulletin MSA 19-10 (the “Bulletin”), which set forth new enrollment and billing requirements for nurse practitioners (“NPs”) and clinical nurse specialists (“CNSs”) participating in the Michigan Medicaid program. Under the new guidelines, effective June... READ MORE

On June 3, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion in Azar v. Allina (Case No. 17-1484) and affirmed the provider-friendly decision from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The win for hospitals comes following a lengthy challenge to various policies issued by the Centers for Medicare... READ MORE

NATIONAL Physician burnout costs the US health care system approximately $4.6 billion a year AMGA finds physician groups increase reliance on risk-based revenues; obstacles persist in move to value 6 latest healthcare industry lawsuits Highest-paid CEOs in 2018: Who made the list from healthcare State-by-state breakdown of rural health clinics Senate health committee takes... READ MORE

NATIONAL Top exec at Amazon healthcare startup Haven leaves after eight months Top 10 states for physician and surgeon pay 10 things to know about Optum, the $101B healthcare company keeping hospital execs up at night 20 healthcare organizations recognized for revenue cycle performance Primary care physician supply in all 50 states, ranked MIPS... READ MORE

On May 17, 2019, CMS released the preliminary FY 2021 Worksheet S-3, Parts II and III wage index Public Use File (“PUF”). The PUF contains wage data based on FFY 2017 hospital cost reports – that is, cost reports with fiscal year begin dates of on or after October 1, 2016 and on or before September 30, 2017. The... READ MORE

In November 2018, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report (“Report”) on new laboratory payment rates established by CMS under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (“PAMA”). In the Report, the GAO analyzed Medicare claims data to assess how CMS’s implementation of these new rates will impact Medicare expenditures and recommended CMS take... READ MORE

Lawmakers Seriously Pursuing “Surprise Medical Bill” Fix Continuing the bipartisan interest in addressing the issue of surprise medical billing, also known as balance billing, a group of bipartisan senators led by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced legislation on Thursday. The legislation states that providers would be prohibited from balance billing... READ MORE

The DOJ’s recent revisions to its Justice Manual created a new path for self-disclosing potential fraud to the government – one which is unique in its ability to defray the costs of potential False Claims Act violations. In 2015, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates released a memo entitled Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing, more... READ MORE