Hospice Audit Series: Beyond Part D, OIG Scrutinizes the Hospice Industry to the Tune of $6.6 Billion
Hooper, Kearney and Macklin on Cutting Edge Topics in the False Claims Act
The health care regulatory space realized significant regulatory and enforcement developments in 2024 that are influencing how providers and industry stakeholders approach various compliance measures and enforcement...more
The Medicare program continues to face long term financial pressures associated with inflationary effects on health care costs and the growing wave of aging baby boomers. The Medicare Trust Fund, which is often viewed as a...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized material changes to the overpayment rules for Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D effective January 1, 2025. These changes create new ambiguity and practical challenges...more
New policies tucked into the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule (Final Rule) will likely spur increased Accountable Care Organization (ACO) participation in the...more
On October 11, 2024, CMS issued a final rule establishing a new appeals process for Medicare beneficiaries who were initially admitted to a hospital as an inpatient but are later reclassified as an outpatient receiving...more
CMS recently published the First Annual Evaluation Report (the “Report”) highlighting its most significant observations in the first year following implementation of the Kidney Care Choices Model (the “KCC Model”). By way of...more
Does your company's health plan provide prescription drug coverage? If so, you have until October 15, 2024 to send a notice to individuals who are enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B and are eligible for the company's...more
The 60-day Refund Rule, created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, requires providers to report and return Medicare and Medicaid overpayments within 60 days of identifying them. See Section 1128J(d) of the Social Security Act,...more
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program got good news from The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) related to widespread fraud involving urinary catheters that...more
CMS estimates that between 2017 and 2021, Medicare Part A improperly paid $23.9 billion for inpatient hospital stays, with $7.8 billion attributable to short stays that did not qualify for Medicare Part A. On June 13, 2024,...more
For the past month or longer, many providers have reported a significant impact on their revenue cycle due to the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, LLC. In light of that impact, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...more
Earlier this week, President Biden released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 President’s Budget. As a reminder, every year, the White House releases a budget that serves as its official funding request to Congress for the following...more
Is Medicare Advantage really a Disadvantage for seniors and taxpayers? Our nation is graying rapidly. Every day, 10,000 baby boomers, members of one of the largest generations in U.S. history, hit the traditional...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2025 for Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies on Jan....more
Could 2024 bring renewed growth for the skilled nursing and senior housing market or will proposed regulatory changes and the lingering effects of COVID-19 stymie hopes for a potential rebound? With rising occupancy rates...more
Holland & Knight Health Dose is an in-depth weekly dose of legislative and regulatory insights to keep stakeholders abreast of happenings in Washington, D.C., impacting the health sector. ...more
On Friday, October 6, 2023, OIG announced the results of an audit performed on the Medicare Part A hospital transfer policy for discharges to post-acute care (PAC). The hospital transfer policy, which was established in...more
Congress may be on summer break, but reg season is in full swing. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final reg that will impact Medicare hospital payments in fiscal year (FY) 2024, which...more
On June 7, 2023, CMS issued a final rule retroactively re-adopting its policy requiring patient days attributable to Medicare Part C beneficiaries (Part C days) to be counted in the Medicare fraction of the disproportionate...more
On March 31, 2023, CMS issued a proposed rule updating Medicare hospice payments and policies and the aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 (Proposed Hospice Rule). Additionally, on April 3, 2023, CMS issued a...more
On December 14, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that contemplates several changes to, and clarifications of, guidance for the Medicare Advantage (MA) program in coverage year 2024....more
On October 26, 2022, OIG published a report summarizing the results of 12 OIG hospital compliance audits covering Medicare claims paid from 2016 through 2018. OIG recommends, among other things, that CMS follow up on...more
On September 27, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released 2023 premiums, deductibles and coinsurance amounts for Medicare Parts A and B, and the Medicare Part D income-related monthly adjustment...more
Does your company's health plan provide prescription drug coverage? If so, you have until October 15, 2022 to send a notice to individuals who are enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B and are eligible for the company's...more
Last week, OIG released a report analyzing trends in the last decade relating to Medicare payments for hospice beneficiaries outside of the hospice per diem. In the report, OIG notes that CMS has taken the position that...more