In recent reports, from June 25, 2014 and August 13, 2014, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlights the mixed results achieved by the federal government’s increased efforts to crack down on health insurance fraud through the use of contractors. The government has spent upwards of $600 million a year to uncover and punish health care … Continue Reading
On April 9, 2014, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), released data showing utilization, payments, and submitted charges for services and procedures that were provided by physicians and other healthcare professionals to Medicare beneficiaries. This unprecedented release of Medicare billing information seeks … Continue Reading
March 2014 has produced quite a bit of activity regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). On March 24, 2014, oral argument was held in the latest challenges to the ACA in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, et al. before the United States Supreme Court, and in Halbig v. Sebelius before the United … Continue Reading
On March 10, 2014, Halifax Hospital Medical Center and Halifax Staffing, Inc. (collectively, “Halifax”) entered into a settlement agreement and a corporate integrity agreement (“CIA”) to resolve claims brought under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), alleging Halifax entered into improper incentive compensation arrangements with certain physicians in exchange for Medicare referrals. Halifax agreed to, among … Continue Reading
The recent decision by the California Supreme Court in Fahlen v. Sutter Central Valley Hospitals, No. S205568 , 2014 WL 655995 (Cal. 2014) may significantly weaken the efficacy of hospital peer review proceedings in California and may have implications for hospitals in other states. The court held that a physician is not required to exhaust … Continue Reading
