Articles and Blogs

The 2011 Form 990, Schedule K has added a question asking whether or not written procedures have been adopted to ensure violations are timely identified and corrected through the IRS’s Voluntary Closing Agreement Program (“VCAP”) if self-remediation is not available.  See our February 2012 Summary of 2011 Schedule K changes, here.  As this question is…Read More

Pleading a False Claims Act case can be a tricky exercise, and in defending an FCA case, it is important to know just what the rules are for a whistleblower, and how they can fail to meet them. One of the most common mistakes made by whistleblowers is failing to “plead fraud with particularity,” a requirement that…Read More

On Tuesday, June 19, 2012, the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) released new guidance related to the current ongoing 340B Program covered entity audits (“340B Audit Guidance”). Although this guidance is consistent with other related audit information communicated verbally and in writing by HRSA, it does provide additional clarity regarding the pre-audit, onsite audit…Read More

Summary On June 15, 2012, the Director of the Survey and Certification Group of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum (“Memo”) to state survey agency directors instructing them to hold off on enforcing a recently revised hospital governing body condition of participation (“CoP”) requiring the governing body of each hospital…Read More

The NLRB’s requirement that most private employers post a notice of employee rights was struck down by the courts.  But in doing a work around, the NLRB has established a webpage that specifically deals with “Protected Concerted Activity”. A Map Tells the Stories The page tells the stories of more than a dozen recent cases involving…Read More

Stark Rejects Calls to Waive Anti-Fraud Laws Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) made clear this week that he will oppose any effort to relax federal health care fraud and abuse laws, including the law that bears his name. Physician advocacy groups have recently called on Congress to relax anti-fraud laws as a way to entice doctors…Read More

This installment of Hall Render’s Health Law Broadcast series on health care reform is designed to provide you with the insight, analysis and practical suggestions with respect to the various reform initiatives that will affect your organization. On May 11, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”)…Read More

The second wave of the HIPAA Security and Privacy Audit Program conducted by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is underway.  Linda Sanches, the Lead for HIPAA Compliance Audits for the OCR, provided a detailed update on the Audit Program at the fifth annual Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security conference held…Read More

Hall Render has learned the Supreme Court will not issue an opinion on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act this week. Sources at the Court tell Hall Render the earliest the Court might rule on the landmark health care law is Monday, June 18.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) is set to announce today it is testing the Advance Payment Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model for participants in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The Shared Savings Program provides incentives for participating health care providers who agree to work together and become accountable for coordinating care…Read More