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Please Click HerePosted on April 4, 2018 by Ruder Ware Alumni
We are often asked to advise clients regarding the scope and content of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) policies and procedures that are required to be maintained. HIPAA clearly requires health care providers, as “covered entities,” to maintain policies and procedures covering HIPAA issues that apply to their operations. There is a core of […]
Posted on April 3, 2018 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Conducting HIPAA Breach Risk Assessments The HIPAA rules relating to assessment of potential patient confidentiality breaches were changed in 2013. Specifically, on January 17, 2013, the Office of Civil Rights released new regulations defining when a HIPAA breach is deemed to occur. These regulations recast the steps that covered entities are required to take when […]
Posted on March 16, 2018 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Some recent changes in federal law and in federal agency interpretation of federal law may both clarify and relieve some regulatory obligations of health care providers. Lessening Dependence on Federal Agency Interpretations of Federal Law In late January, a high ranking official of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) told DOJ litigators they can no […]
Posted on February 26, 2018 by Ruder Ware Alumni
If you navigate to the American Hospital Association (AHA) Interactive Town Hall of January 17, 2018, you can view a video in which Seema Verma, the current Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, discusses some of the efforts currently underway at CMS to ease the burden of applicable regulations through the Medicare […]
Posted on February 20, 2018 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The opioid epidemic is different than other drug related social problems because, in many cases, addiction to opioids starts in the medical office or in the pharmacy; in most cases through the treatment of legitimate physical pain and often chronic pain. As such, the marketing practices of companies who manufacture, market, and distribute these highly […]
Posted on November 28, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A top official in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a major change in the federal government’s position on claims brought under the False Claims Act (FCA). Michael Granston, the director of DOJ’s Civil Frauds Section, the section that handles health care fraud and other FCA cases, stated that the DOJ will ask […]
Posted on September 12, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Skilled nursing facilities (SNF) may see even more scrutiny from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) because of a recent audit conducted by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The audit looked into abuse and neglect of Medicare recipients residing in SNFs and the associated […]
Posted on June 28, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The health care market has recently seen a resurgence in narrow network products. To a significant degree, the resurgence of these products has been driven by the need for managed care plans looking for new avenues to help reduce the cost of care. Traditionally, health care plans have been able to manipulate risk through exclusion […]
Posted on June 27, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a report summarizing activities of State Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs or Units) for fiscal year 2016. The OIG is the designated Federal agency for oversight of state MFCUs. The report found a total of 1,564 convictions of which approximately […]
Posted on June 21, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A federal court recently dealt a victory to a health care provider over whistleblower allegations that free parking and valet service at a medical office building violated the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute. In Bingham v. BayCare Health System (No. 8:14-cv-73, M.D. Fla.), a federal district judge adopted the report and recommendation of a […]