Articles and Blogs

Congress Passes Massive Budget Bill with Numerous Health Care Provisions In the early morning of February 9, Congress passed a two-year budget deal containing substantial implications for health care. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 sets new limits on how much the federal government can spend in the next two years. The budget deal keeps…Read More

NATIONAL Medical bills rise after hospitals acquire physician practices, studies suggest Dialysis provider Fresenius hit with $3.5 million HIPAA fine DOJ Memo Brings Promising News for Providers Facing Government Action Medicare pay cut dropped from spending bill passed by House Former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt to create ‘United States of Care’ Coalition of 44 groups…Read More

On October 1, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) implemented its national targeted probe and educate (“TPE”) program. TPE is designed to reduce improper payments by identifying providers/suppliers with high denial rates or unusual billing practices and providing education to correct non-compliance with claim submission criteria. However, repeated errors could potentially result…Read More

GOP Moving Away from ACA Repeal Efforts Congressional Republicans met for their annual policy retreat this week in West Virginia. Key GOP lawmakers stated that there are no imminent plans to try again to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Instead, they are shifting their focus to passing legislation to lowering health care premiums….Read More

NATIONAL Apple wants to gather all your medical records in the Health app 10 predictions for healthcare industry growth in 2018 Kaufman Hall: Hospital M&A jumped 13% from 2016 U.S. telehealth industry eyes Medicare for its next big check What To Watch In Health Care In 2018: Six Key Trends ‘Not a lot of good…Read More

Due to an expiration of certain provisions in the Social Security Act, there are several changes to the Medicare therapy caps effective for dates of service on or after January 1, 2018. Hospitals and other therapy providers should review these changes to determine their impact on current operations. Therapy providers should also monitor legislation because…Read More

Recently, the D.C. Court of Appeals held that CMS Manual instructions are general statements of policy, which have no binding effect. Although this case involved a procedural claim, the court’s decision reminds providers that solely relying on CMS Manual instructions as guidance for Medicare coverage criteria could result in potential Medicare payment compliance issues. Background…Read More

In its recent MLN Connects for January 25, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a reminder to providers regarding appropriate change in ownership reporting. Notification Requirements All physicians, non-physician practitioners, physician practitioner organizations and non-physician practitioner organizations are required to report any changes in ownership, as well as changes in practice…Read More

Employers rightfully rejoiced last summer when they learned they would not be required to include pay data on their 2017 EEO-1 report. Indeed, as we reported last August, that new and controversial requirement has been put on hold—perhaps forever. But, covered employers are still required to report workforce race/ethnicity and gender information by job category. The deadline to…Read More

On January 19, 2018, in Manitowoc Co., Inc. v. Lanning, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a non-solicitation of employees (“NSE”) clause in an employment contract was covered by the state’s statute limiting the enforceability of covenants not to compete between employers and their employees. The court upheld a lower court decision, which Hall Render…Read More