cms – Page 3 – Duane Morris Health Law

June 2, 2011August 18, 2014 by Neville M. Bilimoria

Expansion of CMS Never Events: They’re Not Just For Medicare Or Just For Hospitals Anymore

In 2005 when “Never Events” were proposed for hospitals through the Deficit Reduction Act, no one knew what the overall effect would be on hospitals or patient care. CMS later developed these and implemented these Never Events under the authority of the DRA to prevent Medicare payment to hospitals for certain “never events” or hospital acquired conditions (HACs) which were conditions that were high volume, involved higher payment, and which could be easily preventable. Now, hospitals and other health care providers have to worry about Never Events in the Medicaid space.

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April 1, 2011September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

FTC and DOJ Propose Enforcement Policy for Healthcare Antitrust Laws

The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have jointly issued a proposed enforcement policy for the application of the antitrust laws to healthcare collaborations among otherwise independent providers and provider groups that seek to participate as accountable care organizations (ACOs) under the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The agencies seek public comments until May 31, 2011, on the proposed enforcement policy and the new antitrust “safety zone” it would create.

For more information and the proposed antitrust policy, please visit the FTC and DOJ’s Proposed Statement.

March 31, 2011September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

CMS Releases Long-Awaited Proposed Rule on Accountable Care Organizations

On March 31, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled the long-awaited federal rule on accountable care organizations. This proposed rule would implement section 3022 of the Affordable Care Act, which allows service providers and suppliers to continue receiving traditional Medicare fee-for-service payments under Parts A and B, and to be eligible for additional payments based on meeting specified quality and savings requirements.

To view the proposed rule, please visit the Office of the Federal Register website.

March 30, 2011September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

A Summary of Medicare Shared Savings Program and ACO Proposed Regulations

On March 30, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid issued the long-awaited, proposed regulations for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, including details of the requirements for qualifying as an accountable care organization (ACO), such as:

Eligible legal entities
Criteria for shared governance
Assignment of beneficiaries to ACOs
Different types of risk contracts
Benchmarks and calculations of savings
Shared savings, antitrust issues and policies, Medicare anti-kickback, and other regulatory requirements as applied to ACOs

The full text of the summary is available as a Duane Morris Alert.

March 18, 2011September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

Civil Money Penalties for Nursing Homes

On March 18, 2011, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued this regulation, implementing section 6111 of the Affordable Care Act. Section 6111 gives CMS authority to impose and collect civil monetary penalties (CMPs) against nursing homes. The penalties are reserved for nursing homes that fail to comply with federal participation requirements outlined in section 6111. Although penalties for noncompliance existed before the Affordable Care Act was promulgated, this regulation revises and expands CMS’s authority to impose and collect CMPs. The final rule is effective January 1, 2012.

For additional information about this new regulation, please visit the Office of the Federal Register website.

December 21, 2010September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

CMS Transmittal Released on Waiving Copayments and Deductibles for Preventative Services Provided at Rural Health Clinics

On December 21, 2010, CMS released Transmittal 2122 providing instructions for waiving coinsurance and deductibles for certain preventative services provided in Rural Health Clinics, as provided for in Section 4104 of the Affordable Care Act. Qualifying preventative services are those recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force with a grade of A or B. The transmittal is effective for services provided on or after January 1, 2011.

To read Transmittal 2122, please go to: http://www2.cms.gov/transmittals/downloads/R2122CP.pdf.

December 16, 2010September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

CMS Will Acquire New Tools to Prevent Fraud

On December 16, 2010, at the regional health care fraud prevention summit in Boston, Massachusetts, HHS Secretary Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder announced that CMS will issue a solicitation for new analytic tools to prevent fraud in Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP. In its press release on the subject, HHS stated that the tools will “integrate many of the Agency’s pilot programs into the National Fraud Prevention Program and complement the work of the joint HHS and Department of Justice Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT).” The tools will be designed to prevent fraudulent payments before they occur, including through predictive modeling and identification of real-time trends by tracking billing patterns and other information.

To read the full press release, please go to: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/12/20101216a.html.

December 3, 2010September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

New Medicare Primary Care Incentive Payment Program

On December 3, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) announced its implementation of a primary care incentive payment program, which is scheduled to take effect in 2011. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Medicare is authorized to offer this incentive to primary care practitioners for the services they provide under Part B, beginning January 1, 2011, and until January 1, 2016. According to section 5501(a) of the PPACA, Medicare will pay primary care practitioners “on a monthly or quarterly basis an amount equal to 10 percent of the payment amount” for such primary care services under Part B. This program is one example of the numerous incentives for primary care practitioners that will continue to be implemented under the authority of the PPACA.

For more information regarding this announcement, please go to: http://www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM7115.pdf and http://www.cms.gov/transmittals/downloads/R2081CP.pdf.

November 16, 2010September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

CMS Introduces New Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation

On November 16, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the establishment of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The acting director of the Center is Richard Gilfillan, M.D., the former president and CEO of Geisinger Health Plan and executive vice president of insurance operations for Geisinger Health System. The goal of the CMMI is to improve quality of care and make coverage more affordable for Medicaid and Medicare patients. To do this, the CMMI will collaborate with key stakeholders, which include consumers, patient advocates, physicians, hospitals, federal agencies and states. The Center will focus on three main objectives:

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October 23, 2010September 10, 2014 by Duane Morris

CMS Issued Stark Self-Disclosure Protocol

On September 23, 2010, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a disclosure protocol pertaining to Stark Law self-referrals in accordance with Section 6409 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The purpose of the Medicare self-referral disclosure protocol (SRDP) is to create a mechanism that affords both health care providers and suppliers the opportunity to disclose either real or potential violations of the Stark law. In the event of a violation, a provider’s or supplier’s submission of this information to CMS may potentially result in a reduction in the amount due for the self-referral violations. For additional information regarding the SRDP, please go to the following website: http://www.cms.gov/PhysicianSelfReferral/65_Self_Referral_Disclosure_Protocol.asp