High Deductible Health Plan Limits:
· Deductible: The minimum deductible for HSA-qualified high deductible health plans is $1,100 for individual coverage and $2,200 …
Pennsylvania law states that medical providers and hospitals must provide copies of patients’ medical records upon request, but may charge a fee for copying and producing the medical records. That fee is addressed annually.
The link below is the announcement by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, entitled “Amendments to Charges for Medical Records,” which was published…
Health Plan Subrogation – In the News
By Joni L. Landy, Esq.
In a nutshell, subrogation is the right of a health plan to recover money it paid out for medical care to treat injuries or conditions caused by another party. For example, subrogation may apply when a participant sustains injuries as a result of a slip and fall on a slippery sidewalk, or may apply if a participant is injured by another driver in a car accident. If the participant sues the party that caused his injuries and recovers, the health plan gets paid back from the recovery. Subrogation rights are typical provisions in health plans. Continue Reading Health Plan Subrogation – In the News
Can Medicare Premiums for the Account Holder’s 65 Year Old Spouse be Reimbursed from an HSA?
By: Joni Landy, Esq.
In general, the law prohibits distributions from an HSA for health insurance premiums. There are several exceptions. The only exception that can apply to Medicare premiums is the exception that allows for payment of health insurance (other than a Medicare supplemental policy) in the case of an account holder who has reached age 65 (the "65 Exception"). Continue Reading Health Savings Account Sticky Issue
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plan regulations were released on August 6, 2007 that replace prior proposed and temporary regulations, which are withdrawn, and consolidate law changes and guidance issued by the IRS over the past twenty years.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
The Internal Revenue Service issued a private letter ruling on April 20, 2007 concluding that captive professional corporations were beneficially owned by the hospital, but that the activities of the professional corporations were conducted on a larger scale then was reasonably necessary for the performance of the hospital’s exempt functions and that the professional corporations&rsquo…
There have been two recent developments regarding the enforcement of expert witness standards, one enforcing standards by a society and one declining to enforce the standards in a private defamation action.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suspended one member and censored another for violating the Standards of Professionalism (SOPs) on orthopaedic expert witness testimony. The…
The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance regarding rollovers from Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (RHAs) to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). The guidance is necessary because Health Savings Accounts are typically not available to individuals who are covered by standard FSAs and HRAs. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006…
For an amusing satire about managed care, check out www.calhealthplan.org, which was created by California consumer activists ( who else?) to highlight perceived managed care abuses. The Nurse Avenger video game is mildly amusing, but the theme song & video, the "Pirates of the Health Care-ibbean" is biting and hysterical, unless you’re a managed…
It seems that electronic health records (EHRs) are constantly being touted as the next best way to improve both healthcare quality and medical practice profitability, but adoption of EHRs by physician practices continues to languish. The range for provider adoptions in small and solo practitioners’ offices, as determined by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is somewhere…
