CMS ISSUES STARK ADVISORY OPINION PROHIBITING
AMENDMENT OF RECRUITMENT AGREEMENT
On October 3, 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Advisory Opinion CMS – AO – 2007 – 01 denying permission to the hospital and physician to revise a physician recruitment agreement. The proposed amendment would have deleted and “excess receipts provision, which…
The new Joint Commission Medical Staff standards (MS.1.20) are creating significant turmoil within the healthcare industry. Below is a BNA Report regarding the American Health Lawyers Association teleconference on the issue, in which Mike Cassidy, one of Tucker’s Pennsylvania healthcare attorneys, was a presenter:
Revised Joint Commission Standards for Medical Staff Operations Roil Industry
OIG ADVISORY OPINION 07-10 APPROVES CALL PAY
On September 27, 2007, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services posted OIG Advisory Opinion No. 07-10 which approves a tax exempt hospital proposal for compensating physicians for on call coverage. While acknowledging that on call compensation potentially creates considerable risk that…
STARK III REGULATIONS TEXT
CMS issued the revised Stark III Regulations to be effective as of December 4, 2007. The text of the regulations is accessible at the link below, and the Med Law Blog will publish a number of short posts over the next two months highlighting certain changes prior to that effective date.
The…
MEDICARE PUBLISHES PART B SPECIALTY GUIDES
Highmark Medicare Services has developed specialty guides to explain and provide hot links to source material for the following specialties or issues:
· Ambulance
· Ambulatory surgery centers
· Anesthesia
· Clinical laboratories
· Podiatry
· Physical therapy
The link below lead you
PHYSICIAN DISABILITY CLAIMS
Physicians are facing increasing opposition from disability insurance carriers regarding claims for “own occupation” disability policies. This scrutiny and opposition is a predictable reaction to the expensive claims, which typically have long payouts including COLA and life-time riders, and the fact that the degree of disability or physical impairment necessary to substantially impede…
California courts have been active concerning peer review issues, ruling on three major decisions in the month of August. The Court of Appeals of California and the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California issued opinions further clarifying peer review processes in the state. These decisions not only affect practitioners within California, but also will influence courts across the country faced with the similar issues.Continue Reading Peer Review Hot Topic for California Courts
As published in the September 2007 edition of Bulletin, a publication created by the AlleghenyCounty Medical Society.
While medical practice acquisitions continue, some physicians and practices are returning to private practice. These returns are sometimes driven by regional strategies, specialty strategies, or just individual decisions made on a physician-to-physician basis, some voluntary and some involuntary. Although returning to private practice presents many of the same issues as starting a new practice, we will focus on those issues as they are presented in a return to private practice environment. The return to private practice is actually more similar to a separation from an existing practice because, rather than starting a new practice, you are actually transitioning a practice from a third party.Continue Reading Planning Your Return to Private Practice
PITTSBURGH, PA – The law firm Tucker Arensberg, PC is proud to announce that Michael A. Cassidy has been named to the list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers for 2007 by Philadelphia Magazine and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Magazine. Selection for the honor is determined through the independent research of Law & Politics magazine. Over 36,000 Pennsylvania…
By: Joni L. Landy, Esq.
New proposed cafeteria plan regulations were released on August 6, 2007 that replace prior proposed and temporary regulations, which are withdrawn, and consolidate law changes and guidance issued by the IRS over the past twenty years. The regulations preserve much of the existing guidance but clarify some outstanding issues and include a few new rules. Existing cafeteria plan regulations governing mid-year election changes and FMLA operations remain the same. This alert highlights some of the more notable new or clarifying provisions of the proposed regulations.Continue Reading IRS Releases New Proposed Cafeteria Plan Regulations
