Hospital and health systems rely on vendors and other partners to provide vital services that support patient care, efficient operations and smooth administrative functions. However, the regulations governing different types...more
On December 17, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2022 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) final rule. In light of the significant volume of comments, CMS declined...more
On November 12, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated version of its Quality, Safety and Oversight Group memorandum, QSO-19-13-Hospital, containing much-anticipated final guidance on...more
On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will implement increased penalties for hospitals that do not comply with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule, effective January 1,...more
Under current Medicare program rules, Medicare does not recognize “freestanding emergency departments” or other non-hospital providers of emergency department services. Medicare will only pay for these services at facilities...more
On July 19, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden’s administration released a proposed rule that would increase penalties for hospitals that do not comply with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule, effective January 1, 2022. The...more
The 340B Program has gained national attention over the last decade, in part due to the opportunities it provides to generate revenue for participating entities without risk of significant enforcement penalties for...more
7/12/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Covered Entities ,
DSH ,
Eligibility ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
Medicare ,
Overpayment ,
Payor Contracts ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Refunds ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Section 340B ,
Webinars
The US Supreme Court has announced that it will take up review of the decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholding Medicare’s 2018 payment cuts to 340B drugs. The case will be closely...more
7/7/2021
/ Appeals ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 340B
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, creates 1,000 new Medicare-funded graduate medical education (GME) residency positions, expands opportunities for rural residency training, and allows hospitals that have very low...more
1/18/2021
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
FTEs ,
Graduate Medical Education ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Teaching Hospitals ,
Training
Year-end COVID-19 relief legislation approved by Congress established Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) as a new Medicare provider type effective January 1, 2023. REHs, defined as providers that furnish certain outpatient...more
1/6/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Provider Payments ,
Reimbursements ,
Relief Measures ,
Rural Health Care Providers
On August 4, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY 2021 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule. CMS proposes to reduce OPPS payments for 340B drugs from...more
Background On November 15, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule (Final Rule) that requires hospitals to establish, update and make public a list of their standard charges for items and...more
In light of recent civil unrest within the United States, which has been accompanied by incidents of property damage and large crowd actions, hospitals and healthcare facilities should consider reviewing and ensuring that...more
On April 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule (IFR) that made regulatory changes and clarified certain policies in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health...more
After receiving approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on April 23, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a survey on April 24, 2020, to collect information on 340B hospitals’...more
On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Quality, Safety & Oversight memorandum QSO-20-27-Hospital (QSO Memo), addressed to state survey agencies to provide guidance to independent...more
On April 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Quality, Safety & Oversight memorandum QSO-20-24-ASC (the QSO Memo), addressed to state survey agencies to provide guidance on processing attestation...more
Accelerated or advance Medicare payments can provide some cash flow as providers and suppliers combat the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This program requires a one-page application and funds may be available...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released several fact sheets on COVID-19 coverage and benefits, and announced a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, U0002, for billing COVID-19...more
3/11/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Diagnostic Tests ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Physicians ,
Provider Payments
On February 7, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) published a notice signaling that it has submitted its previously published September 2019 proposed survey of hospital 340B drug costs for Office of...more
Hospitals and health systems are facing consumer demand for innovation, the need to expand and enhance streams of revenue and the push for improved quality, all while navigating changing regulations, federal enforcement,...more
2/6/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMIA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
No-Poaching ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
Less than two weeks into the new year, the federal government has released two new publications addressing concerns related to 340B Program oversight by both state and federal agencies. After a relatively quiet 2019, 340B...more
1/14/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Fee-for-Service ,
GAO ,
Hospitals ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Section 340B
On November 15, the Trump Administration released a final rule requiring hospitals to publicly disclose hospital charges, including negotiated prices with third-party payers by January 1, 2021. We outline key considerations...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released proposed updates to payment rates and regulations applicable to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System for Calendar Year 2020, including proposals...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued long-awaited draft guidance addressing the use of shared space and contracted services. Though aiming to increase transparency into the scope and interpretation of its...more