The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued the final rule for the physician fee schedule (PFS) for calendar year (CY) 2024, which implements new evaluation and management (E/M) policies and solidifies certain existing telehealth policies. In the final rule, CMS reduced overall payment rates under the PFS…
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recently entered into a first of its kind resolution agreement and corrective action plan to settle potential HIPAA violations arising out of a ransomware attack. The agreement to settle alleged HIPAA violations was entered into with Doctors’…
A recent report published by the Syntellis Performance Solutions and the American Hospital Association demonstrated a shocking 56% increase in Medicare Advantage (MA) claim denials from January 2022 to July 2023. The report was based on an analysis of data from over 1,300 health systems and hospitals, and further showed…
In November 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its General Compliance Program Guidance (GCPG). This guidance was released as part of OIG’s Modernization Initiative, which seeks to make compliance program guidance more user friendly and accessible. The document does not include…
On November 2, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule outlining the 2024 Medicare payment rates and policy updates for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services. The CMS final rule represents an annual update to the Medicare payment system and includes updates…
In light of the rapid technological advancements and increasing utilizations of artificial intelligence (AI), the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a publication outlining key regulatory considerations on AI for healthcare. The publication highlights emerging best practices for the development and use of AI in healthcare and aims to lay out…
In November 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule expanding their ability to revoke Medicare billing privileges of providers and suppliers. This rule went into effect January 1, 2022, and has significantly increased the importance of a diligent and careful response when faced with…
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced several new changes in its Work Plan update for October 2023. The OIG Work Plan forecasts the projects that OIG plans to implement over the foreseeable future. These projects usually include OIG audits and evaluations. Below are the…
On October 10, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an advisory opinion reinforcing the broad protection of physician employees under the safe harbor provision of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). The AKS is a federal criminal law which prohibits payment for the…
In August 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced its strategic plan to investigate the life cycle of Medicare and Medicaid managed care contracts. OIG’s plan will scrutinize these contracts from inception through enrollment, reimbursement, services, and renewal. In order to address…