October 2, 2019 Elite Dental Associates, Dallas (“Elite”) has agreed to pay $10,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and to adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Elite is a privately-owned […]
HHS Secretary Azar Statement on 2020 Medicare Advantage Rate Decrease
Ahead of this fall’s Medicare Open Enrollment, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced on Tuesday that, on average, Medicare Advantage premiums in 2020 are expected to decline 23 percent from 2018 while plan choices, benefits and enrollment continue to increase. HHS Secretary Alex Azar issued the following statement: “President Trump has promised American […]
Court win may not solve hospitals’ site-neutral pay problem
September 18, 2019 SUSANNAH LUTHI While hospitals groups have welcomed a federal judge’s ruling against the CMS’ expansion of site-neutral payments for basic doctor’s visits, some analysts see it as a short-term solution that can’t survive as a long-term strategy. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer’s ruling Tuesday sealed the divide between the Trump administration and hospitals in […]
Nevada readying return to state-run health insurance website
September 05, 2019 Associated Press After relying on the federal HealthCare.gov website for five years, Nevada officials are preparing to switch back to a state-run insurance website where people can shop for and enroll in health coverage. The online insurance marketplaces are a hallmark of former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, allowing those who aren’t […]
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $572M over opioid crisis
August 26, 2019 SUSANNAH LUTHI An Oklahoma state judge on Monday ruled that Johnson & Johnson fed the state’s opioid addiction crisis with aggressive marketing and sales, ordering the company to pay $572 million. The manufacturers’ “false, misleading and dangerous marketing campaigns have caused exponentially increasing rates of addiction overdose deaths and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome,” […]
CMS will change hospital star ratings methodology in 2021
August 19, 2019 11:28 AM MARIA CASTELLUCCI The CMS announced Monday that it plans to change the controversial methodology used for its hospital star ratings in early 2021. The agency didn’t disclose specific details about what the changes will entail but it will propose them through public rulemaking some time next year. Plans to alter […]
Maria Nutile recognized by Best Lawyers® for her work in Health Care Law
Best Lawyers Names Top Lawyers in America AUGUSTA, Ga., Aug. 15, 2019 Maria Nutile was recently selected by her peers for inclusion in the 26th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America for her work in Health Care Law. Best Lawyers®, the only purely peer-review™ guide to the legal profession, announced the 2020 Edition of […]
Allscripts agrees to $145 million HIPAA, kickbacks settlement
August 08, 2019 05:30 PM JESSICA KIM COHEN Allscripts Healthcare Solutions on Thursday announced it had reached a tentative settlement with the Justice Department to resolve investigations of a company the electronic health records vendor acquired last year. Practice Fusion, which Allscripts acquired in 2018, had been subpoenaed over “certain business practices,” including the company’s compliance with […]
Whistleblower alleges DaVita, Fresenius involved in kickback scheme
August 02, 2019 04:50 PM SHELBY LIVINGSTON A whistleblower has alleged that DaVita Kidney Care and Fresenius and charity organization American Kidney Fund were involved in a years-long kickback scheme in which patients were incentivized to use only those dialysis providers who donated to the charity. According to the whistleblower complaint, which was first unsealed […]
Some hospitals are already offering price estimates
July 30, 2019 04:02 PM JESSICA KIM COHEN The CMS on Monday issued several proposed rules that, among other changes, would require hospitals to publish payer-negotiated prices for various services alongside standard gross charges. The goal is to make it easier for patients to understand the cost of a hospital service before accessing care, according to agency […]