The Trump administration is halting billions of dollars of payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act’s risk-adjustment program, a move that further disrupts the insurance market and could lead to more premium increases next year. Read the full article here.
Category: Uncategorized
2018 National Health Care Fraud Takedown
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, along with our state and federal law enforcement partners, participated in the largest health care fraud takedown in history in June 2018. More than 600 defendants in 58 federal districts were charged with participating in fraud schemes involving about $2 billion in losses to […]
Judge rules in favor of OCR and requires a Texas cancer center to pay $4.3 million in penalties for HIPAA violations
June 18, 2018 A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has ruled that The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules and granted summary judgment to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on […]
Feds don’t owe health insurers billions in ACA risk-corridor funds, appeals court rules
A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the U.S. government does not owe health insurers billions of dollars in unpaid risk-corridor funds meant to offset losses during the early years of the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Read full article here.
Oncologists sue HHS over Medicare Part B sequester cuts
Oncologists sued HHS Thursday over the continued 2% cuts to Medicare Part B drug reimbursements packed in the budget sequester, claiming Congress never gave HHS authority to change the reimbursement formula. Read full article here.
FDA explores requiring drug price disclosures in commercial
Can the FDA compel drug makers to disclose prices in TV commercials? The Trump administration sees this as a key strategy for reining in the cost of medications, but it raises many legal questions and concerns that listing prices without context would be misleading as there are many different factors that determine the price the […]
Medicare Changes In Store For Hospitals
Medicare will be requiring hospitals to post prices online. They are already required to disclose prices publicly, but this change would require them to put this information online. This reflects the on-going efforts by the Trump administration to encourage patients to become better decision makers in their own health care. Read the full article here.
HIPAA Compliance; Are Major Changes In Store For 2018?
Are there likely to be major 2018 HIPAA changes? What does this year have in store in terms of new HIPAA regulations? OCR Director Roger Severino has hinted there could be some 2018 HIPAA changes and that HIPAA enforcement in 2018 is unlikely to slowdown. Read the full article here.
Spring Has Sprung; It May Be Time for a Checkup
Running a business is increasingly complex. The decisions made on behalf of your business today will have far-reaching implications in the future. With spring in the air, it may be time for a business health assessment or checkup. Detecting potential concerns provides time to change course or reduce impact, while identifying the strengths of your […]
Healthcare leaders worry Supreme Court case could hurt quality of care
Healthcare leaders worry Supreme Court case on union fees could hurt workplace harmony and quality of care By Harris Meyer | February 23, 2018 Joyce Robertson has been a public health nurse with the Cook County Health & Hospitals System in Chicago for 24 years. She says her labor union, National Nurses United, has repeatedly backed her up […]