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 The suspension was initially rescinded by the Medical Executive Committee, although it was reinstated by the hospital’s…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…

New Data Bank Regulations Implement

Social Security Act §1921 – MMPPA §5(h)

The Medicare and Medicaid Program Protection Act (MMPPA) added Soc. Sec. §1921. This law expanded state licensure reporting obligations to match those already in place for the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB), which became active in 1999. These regulations will make reporting …

The Department of Health and Human Services has published proposed regulations for the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB).  The new regulations are intended to incorporate Section 1921 of the Social Security Act, which was enacted as part of the Medicare and Medicaid Patient and Program Protection Act of 1987 (MMPPA). 

These proposed regulations were first…

Contributed by Scott R. Leah, Esq.

sleah@tuckerlaw.com, 412.594.5551

In a recent case, several physicians challenged the ability of a medical practice to restrict their ability to practice medicine in accordance with a noncompetition agreement that they had signed. The physicians argued that the agreements were void as they violated state law on restricting the ability…

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Tucker Arensberg’s Healthcare Practice Group includes some of the most experienced health law attorneys in the region. We handle the legal problems so our clients can handle the important work of caring for patients. We work with physicians, physical therapists, dentists, optometrists, and all other professional care givers to help them avoid the many legal traps of running a practice. Tucker Arensberg lawyers have experience in all major health law issues.