The Senate failed to act on The House bill to postpone the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Medicare Physician Fee Schedule cut. Therefore the mandatory 21.5% Medcare cut will happen on March1. Legislators have promised renewed efforts but there is no immediate relief in sight.
However, CMS is suggesting anpther 10 day hold to provide time…
Contributed by Piyush Seth
412.594.5640, pseth@tuckerlaw.com
…
Courtesy of the MGMA
Barring last-minute action by Congress, the 21.2 percent cut to Medicare physician payments will take effect next Monday, March 1. Despite previous indications that the Senate was considering an amendment to an anticipated job-creation bill to avert the cut, no clear legislative pathway for relief has yet been defined. Medical Group…
Section 135(a) of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) amended section 1834(e) of the Social Security Act and required the Secretary to designate organizations to accredit suppliers, including but not limited to physicians, non-physician practitioners and Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities, that furnish the technical component (TC) of advanced diagnostic…
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH") provisions of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA") contain a number of changes affecting the compliance obligations of covered entities and business associates under HIPAA. Many of the key provisions of HITECH are effective as of February 17, 2010 and it…
Dr. Gary Ritten was a medical staff member at Lapeer Regional Medical Center in Indiana. He was summarily suspended in September 2005, allegedly in retaliation for refusing to transfer a patient who had not been stabilized as required by EMTALA. The suspension was initially rescinded by the Medical Executive Committee, although it was reinstated by the hospital’s…
CMS APPROVES THREE NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO
ACCREDIT SUPPLIERS OF ADVANCED IMAGING SERVICES
MRI, CT AND PET SCANS AMONG SERVICES TO BE AFFECTED
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is designating three national accreditation organizations – the American College of Radiology (ACR), the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC), and The Joint Commission (TJC)…
On January 28, the Senate approved legislation that will increase the federal debt limit to $1.9 trillion. Included in this legislation was a provision to reinstate "pay-go" rules mandating that Congress must offset any future increased spending with corresponding spending reductions or revenue increases. This bill also provides Congress a 5 year exemption from these pay-go…
Contributed by Paul J. Welk, Esq.
412.594.5536, pwelk@tuckerlaw.com
In a letter dated January 27, 2010, the American Medical Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association and American Dental Association wrote to the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") asking that the FTC make it clear that in light of a recent court decision, the Red Flags…
