It was the night before Christmas and all through the west, not a physician was conspiring, not even the next. . . On December 24, 2008, the FTC announced settlement of price fixing cases against AllCare IPA, a 500 physician multi-specialty IPA organized as Independent Practice Associates Medical Group, Inc. in Modesto, California
Compliance
$400,000 JURY AWARD TO DEAF PATIENT FOR DENIAL OF INTERPRETER
A New Jersey Court has awarded $400,000 to a deaf patient who claimed her doctor discriminated against her by refusing to provide an interpreter. Irma Gerena sued Robert Fogari, a Jersey City rheumatologist, under the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act, claiming violations for refusing to provide to interpreter. This is not a new issue. The …
Pennsylvania Medical Record Fees for 2009
On Saturday, December 6, 2008, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health published the allowable medical records fees under Pennsylvania Statute 42 P.A. C.S. §§ 6152-6155. Attached below is a link to the notice published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
FTC Announces 6 Month Delay of Red Flag Rules
There has been some consternation whether the FTC Red Flag rules applied to medical practices as creditors. Organized medicine has been seeking clarification. which has not been forthcoming. Fortunately, this 6 month delay should allow somtime to review this issue.
FTC Will Grant Six-Month Delay of Enforcement of ‘Red Flags’ Rule Requiring Creditors and Financial Institutions
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Reporting Practice Changes to CMS
Once enrolled in the Medicare Program, physicians, other non-physician individual practitioners and physicians group practices are required to notify CMS of changes in their practice structures. These requirements are sometimes referred to as change in ownership (CHOW) rules. Physicians and other individuals are required to report the following on form CMS-855-I:
1. Change of business …
HIPPA Administrative Simplification Proposed Rule
On August 22, 2008 the Department of Health and Human Services published a Proposed Rule that would modify two of the medical data code set standards adopted in the Transactions and Code Sets final rule. The Proposed Rule would modify the standard code sets for coding diagnoses and inpatient hospital procedures by concurrently adopting…
Peer Review Update: Adverse Peer Review Actions Require Independent Investigation
A California court has held that one hospital cannot take adverse peer review actions against a physician based solely on adverse peer review actions at another hospital; there must be an independent investigation of the medical issues.
In Smith vs. Selma Community Hospital, a copy of the opinion is attached below, the California appellate court…
Congress Overrides Medicare Veto
Congress Overrides Medicare Veto
The House voted 383 to 41 to override the veto, while the Senate voted 70 to 26, in both cases far more than the two-thirds necessary to block the president’s action.
With organized medicine and other lobbies promoting the popular measure in an election year, Republicans broke heavily from the White
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Monitor Your Billing Company’s Collection Practices
Collection Notices Must Interpreted From The Point Of View Of The “Least Sophisticated Debtor”
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has reinforced that collection notices must be interpreted from the point of view of the “least sophisticated debtor.”
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 (FDPCA), the…
Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority 2007 Annual Report
The April 30, 2008 Press Release, Executive Summary and 2007 Annual Report are available at the link below.
http://www.psa.state.pa.us/psa/lib/psa/annual_reports/annual_report_pr_2007_043008.pdf