Articles and Blogs

CMS Formalizes Plan to Extend Meaningful Use Deadlines On May 20, CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology formalized its decision to extend Stage 2 of the Electronic Health Records (“EHR”) Incentive Programs for an additional year (through 2016), meaning the earliest hospitals could move to Stage 3 would be…Read More

On May 16, 2014, CMS issued a Survey and Certification Transmittal (“Transmittal”) to the state survey agency directors providing infomation on how Medicare and Medicaid certifed long-term care facilities may obtain an extension of time for the installation of automatic sprinkler sytems.  The Transmittal sets forth the procedures on how a nursing home may seek an extension…Read More

Executive Summary On May 12, 2014, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued proposed rules to substantially revise its Civil Monetary Penalty Rules (“Proposed Rules”).  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act enhanced OIG’s statutory authority to exclude persons from participating in federal health care…Read More

On June 1, 2014, Indiana will change the way Indiana residents obtain Medicaid coverage in the age, blind or disabled categories. Currently, when Indiana residents apply for Medicaid coverage, they are subject to state-specific restrictive criteria. After June 1, 2014, Indiana residents will automatically be enrolled in Medicaid if the Federal Social Security Administration determines…Read More

On May 1, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health announced it is seeking input and feedback on federal legislation that would encourage the deployment and adoption of telehealth technology.  The announcement was made in conjunction with a hearing, “Telehealth to Digital Medicine: How 21st Century Technology Can Benefit Patients,” led by Subcommittee…Read More

What Is the “Compendium of Priority Recommendations”? In March 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) published the 2014 “Compendium of Priority Recommendations” (“Compendium”), a compilation of 25 of its most significant open recommendations that, in OIG’s view, would best protect the integrity of HHS programs, if implemented….Read More

Ways and Means Announces Hearing on Hospital Issues On May 13, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health announced it will hold a May 20 hearing on current hospital issues in the Medicare program.  According to the committee press release, the hearing will touch on all current issues relevant to hospitals in the Medicare…Read More

Executive Summary On May 2, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a final rule (“Final Rule”) establishing a prospective payment system (“PPS”) for Federally Qualified Health Centers (“FQHCs”).  As a result of this rule, PPS reimbursement will be mandated for both FQHC “look-alikes” and Section 330 grant recipients effective for Medicare…Read More

Members of today’s workforce generally fall into one of three classifications: employers, employees and independent contractors. Recently, federal and state agencies have zeroed in on employee/independent contractor classifications and have increased their enforcement efforts as a way to increase agency revenue.  For example, the Government Accountability Office estimates that unpaid taxes stemming from employee misclassification…Read More

Yesterday, CMS posted the following update to its Inpatient Hospital Reviews page: