As they do every year, the Internal Revenue Service released the dollar limits that apply to qualified retirement plans. There are three separate charts below that list the limits for 2010. The three charts are separated to identify the limits for: (1) defined contribution plans, (2) defined benefit plans, and (3) both defined contribution and defined…

Urgent: Call your senators and urge support of legislation repealing SGR

The Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of S. 1776, the “Medicare Physicians Fairness Act of 2009,” on Monday afternoon, Oct. 19. This just-introduced legislation eliminates the 21.5 percent cut in Medicare physician reimbursement for 2010 and repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR)…


Finance Committee Approves Health Reform Bill, Snowe Sides With Democrats
October 13, 2009

With the support of a lone Republican, the Senate Finance Committee today approved a $829 billion health care package that would assure that most Americans would have access to health insurance, end discriminatory insurance industry practices and impose a tax on

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A laptop containing personal information for hundreds of thousands of physicians, including many in Pennsylvania, has been stolen.

According to a letter Highmark sent to its affected network physicians, the stolen laptop belonged to an employee of the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), who violated company policy by transferring provider network data…

Prior to passage of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), CMS was not restricted in recouping overpayments, despite the provider’s ongoing appeal rights.

Finally, as of November 16, 2009, CMS will implement new rules required by MMA to restrict immediate recoupment. Section 1892(f) of the Social Security Act prohibits recoupment of overpayment during a supplier…

The following is the Med Law Blog’s Top 10 List for Areas of Interest in the OIG 2010 Work Plan for physicians and providers, which will draw particular scrutiny next year:

1.         Medicare Incentive Payment for E-Prescribing

2.         Practice Expense Components of Diagnostic Imaging

3.         Outpatient Physical Therapy Services by Independent Therapists

4.         Place of…

In Isaiah v. WMHS Braddock Hospital Corporation and Memorial Hospital and Medical Center of Cumberland, the Fourth Circuit affirmed an order granting summary judgment against Dr. Isaiah in favor of WMHS Braddock Hospital on the basis that summary judgment was appropriate under both HCQIA and the Maryland statutes providing immunity for peer review activity…

This is just a reminder of the effective date for certain new Stark Rules:

1.         CMS prohibits percentage formulae conjunction with space on equipment leases, fair market value exception transactions and indirect compensation effective October 1, 2009.

2.         Per click leases are prohibited effective October 1, 2009.

3.         "Under arrangement" relationships have been changed because…

With cases of the H1N1 Virus continuing to increase, employers’ concerns about the H1N1 virus and seasonal flu are mounting.  Employers are facing workplace and leave issues and many are developing written H1N1 and contagious disease policies to help minimize the negative effects an influenza outbreak could have on their business. Anticipating many questions from employers, the …

Med Law Blog Editor

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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.