In my recent Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA) webinar, “Strategies for Avoiding Medicare and Medicaid Fraud in 30 Minutes Webinar,” I discuss Medicare/Medicaid fraud (unintentional or otherwise), overbilling, “upcoding” (CPT codes), as well as the government’s current investigative/prosecutorial priorities, such as the Department of Justice’s crackdown on illicit telemedicine businesses. Enjoy the webinar recording
This is the third article in our series on the new “Pathways” rules for Accountable Care Organizations. Our first two articles in the series can be found here.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its anticipated final rule revising the Medicare Shared Savings Program to improve cost savings and quality.
With the changes in the final rule, the revamped program, called “Pathways to Success,” is projected to save Medicare $2.9 billion over 10 years—that’s $0.7 billion more than projected in the proposed rule issued August 9, 2018.
Continue Reading The “Pathways to Success” Final Rule is Here: ACO’s Face Big Decisions
One conclusion drawn from the 2018 midterm elections is health care is a big deal for Americans. In fact, according to pre- and post-election polling, health care may be the biggest deal, as a plurality of voters identified health care as their top issue in casting their vote.
Continue Reading Health Care Drives Voters at the Polls, but Will Health Care Drive Policymaking?
According to an article published by USA Today, nearly $1 trillion in federal cuts to the Medicaid program approved by House Republicans threaten getting low income and special needs children covered by insurance. Concerns are magnified by the Sept. 30 deadline for CHIP reauthorization, which some worry will be used as a bargaining tool to
On March 20th, House Republicans rolled out a number of changes to their bill, the American HealthCare Act (AHCA), seeking to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare law better known as Obamacare. Although the House Leadership ultimately chose not to bring the AHCA to a vote, this ninth article in our series on the effect of a “slow repeal” of the ACA unpacks the Manager’s Amendment, and offers insights on what may still form the basis for health care legislation.
Continue Reading Slow Repeal of the ACA Just Got Slower…
On Monday, March 6, 2017, House Republicans released the long awaited proposed legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The GOP bill, the “American Health Care Act” (AHCA), repeals or significantly changes major portions of the ACA involving the individual and employer mandates, subsidies, and Medicaid expansion, among others. The AHCA, which is already facing political headwinds and healthcare industry objections, has not yet been scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), so the economic effect and the potential change to the number of people covered by health insurance have not been officially quantified. However, the AHCA’s overall philosophy and goals are clear, and it signals areas of concern for healthcare providers and Medicaid expansion States. In this article in our series on the effect of a “slow repeal” of the ACA, this week’s discussion focuses on the significant aspects of the proposed AHCA, potential concerns for healthcare providers, and likely next steps.Continue Reading Slow Repeal of the ACA – Proposed Replacement Legislation Released
This is the fifth article in our series on the effect of the “slow repeal” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This week’s article focuses on the potential impact of the slow repeal of the ACA on rural communities and healthcare.
Continued Fragile System Leads to Uncertainty or Closure Causing Economic Ripple Effect Throughout Rural America
There are nearly 5,000 short-term, acute care hospitals in the United States, half of which are in rural areas. About four in 10 rural hospitals are located in the South. More than half of rural hospitals are Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) (53.5%); a smaller share of rural hospitals are designated as Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs) (13%), Medicare Dependent Hospitals (MDHs) (8%), and Rural Referral Centers (RRCs) (11%). All of these designations provide enhanced or supplemental reimbursement under Medicare, using different formulas. Rural hospitals that do not qualify for these Medicare programs are reimbursed as standard Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals.
Continue Reading Slow Repeal of the ACA and Its Impact on Rural Healthcare and Communities
On January 6, 2017, several new regulatory exceptions to the beneficiary inducement statute went into effect. These regulations, published by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) in a final rule dated December 7, 2016,1 bring long awaited closure to many of the outstanding issues raised in the statutory versions of the exceptions implemented by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and in the proposed regulations issued by the OIG on October 3, 2014.2 Several exceptions that may be of particular interest to children’s hospitals are highlighted below.
Continue Reading New Regulatory Exceptions to the Beneficiary Inducement Statute
Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order Jan. 19, 2016, to make Louisiana the 32nd state to adopt Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Montana’s Medicaid expansion became effective Jan. 1, and South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming are including Medicaid expansion in upcoming state budget proposals.
This is reflective of a growing trend of so-called “red” states that are nevertheless adopting provisions of the Affordable Care Act that subsidize healthcare costs for new groups of citizens who cannot afford commercial or exchange insurance products and do not qualify for Medicare. To sweeten the pot, the Obama administration announced its 2017 budget proposal will include a legislative proposal to provide any state that expands Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act with the same three years of full federal funding that states that expanded their Medicaid programs in 2014 enjoyed.
Continue Reading Red states see green: Opportunities for children’s hospitals
A New York district court issued the first judicial opinion Monday, Aug. 3 on the Affordable Care Act’s “60-day rule,” which requires that a Medicare or Medicaid overpayment be reported and returned within 60 days of the date on which the overpayment was “identified.” The decision by Judge Edgardo Ramos provided a definition of what it means to “identify” an overpayment and thus begin the 60-day time period in which overpayments must be reported and returned. Given that the 60-day rule maintains that any person who knowingly fails to comply with this obligation within the 60-day timeframe has violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”), the potential implications of Judge Ramos’s decision are significant.
Continue Reading District court interprets ‘identification’ of overpayment under 60-day rule