Seven GOP Senate Finance members wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CMS Administrator Don Berwick suggesting that due to the outpouring of concern from the provider community — including key health care integrated systems such as the Mayo Clinic, Billings Clinic, Intermountain Healthcare and Cleveland Clinic — CMS officials should pull the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Latest Medical Malpractice Data Shows Number of Filings Reach New Low
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Legal News
A total of 1,491 malpractice lawsuits were filed in 2010, according to a report released last week by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
Court officials reported that 163 cases reached a jury, and 133 verdicts – 81 percent – favored the defense.
Chief Justice Ronald Castille said there’s been a 45 percent decline in…
CMS Announces National Version 5010 Testing Day
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in HIPAA, HIT, and EHR
CMS Announces National Version 5010 Testing Day
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Version 5010 compliance date – Sunday, January 1, 2012 – is fast approaching. All HIPAA-covered entities should be taking steps now to get ready, including conducting external testing to ensure timely compliance. Are you prepared for the transition? Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS)…
EASIER SOFTER ACOs
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Legal News
Although the ink is barely dry on the proposed regulations for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), there are already harbingers that ACOs may not be the Health Care Reform savior they were intended to be.
First, a study by the American Hospital Association states that the estimate initially made by CMS for the cost of…
First Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Payments Will Be Issued This Week
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in HIPAA, HIT, and EHR
According to a CMS news update issued today, the first incentive payments for the Medicare EHR incentive program will be sent out this week. Providers who have successfully attested to meeting the meaningful use requirements and who have met other program requirements can expect to receive their incentive payments for the 2011 payment year sometime soon.…
Ban on Physician Owned Hospitals Ruled Constitutional
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Fraud - Stark
In Physician Hospitals of America v. Sebelius, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas upheld § 6001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), which prohibits new physician owned hospitals and the expansion of those already existing.
Meaningful Use and Attestation
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in HIPAA, HIT, and EHR
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- The Attestation
…
Credentialing Injunction Settled for $4,000,000
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
On January 21, 2009 I posted an article describing the preliminary injunction obtained by Jesse Cole, M.D. against St. James Healthcare in Montana, pursuant to which Dr. Cole’s clinical privileges were reinstated. For more information, see the website describing the final settlement in that case in which St. James Healthcare paid $4,000,000 to settle the
HHS Concludes Getting Punched In The Head Is Dangerous
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Legal News
We needed a study for this???
CMS Permits Self-Reporting Nursing Homes 50 Percent Penalty Reduction
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Compliance
CMS has issued a final rule in 42 CFR § 488.438(c)(2), which will be effective January 1, 2012, which states:
· “When CMS determines that a SNF, a dually participating SNF/NF, or an NF-only facility subject to a civil money penalty imposed by CMS self-reports and promptly corrects the non-compliance for which the…