A federal court decision to vacate regulations concerning “overpayments” to Medicare Advantage plans has left open questions about the way the government pays the insurers and pending cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Continue Reading Court Decision on Overpayment Rule Leaves Uncertain Future for Medicare Payment Methodology and Pending Justice Department Lawsuits
Overpayment
How much does it cost to identify and repay federal health plan overpayments late?
Roughly $2.95 for each $1 overpaid (plus legal costs and the overpayment) based on an August 24, 2016, U.S. Attorney’s Office press release regarding settlement of State of New York, ex rel. Robert P. Kane v. Healthfirst, Inc. et al case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Defendants previously lost a motion to dismiss this case based, in part, on the fact that defendants actually identified and repaid the overpayments. Specifically, about $1 million in overpayments were presented to the defendants in the form of a spreadsheet in February 2011. Subsequently, defendants repaid the overpayments in more than 30 installments from April 2011 to March 2013. Notwithstanding, the government took the position that, under the False Claims Act, repayment should have been made within 60 days of the date of the claims were identified in the spreadsheet. Defendants argued, among other things, that there was ambiguity about the term “identify” as used in the False Claims Act and that the spreadsheet was merely the first component of an investigation into the overpayments that was ongoing through the repayment process. Almost a year after losing the motion to dismiss, defendants settled the case for $2.95 million.
Continue Reading How much does it cost to identify and repay federal health plan overpayments late?
District court interprets ‘identification’ of overpayment under 60-day rule
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
Husch Blackwell Attorneys Discuss The Stark Law and Self-Disclosure
On September 25, 2012, two members of the Husch Blackwell Healthcare team, Brian Bewley and David Pursell, presented a webinar discussing:
- An overview of Stark
- Stark overpayment reporting requirements
- Steps to take after discovering a potential Stark violation
As former Senior Counsel in the Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services and…