The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has issued additional blanket waivers retroactive to March 1, 2020 through the end of the emergency declaration to help healthcare providers contain the spread of COVID-19. The updated waivers were released on April 29, 2020 and are an update from those issued on April 21, 2020. The
New CMS Waivers for Stark Law, NCD, LCD and Supervision Requirements During Public Health Emergency
Physicians enrolled in Medicare are all-to-familiar with the constraints of the Stark Law which prohibits physicians from making referrals for designated health services (“DHS”) payable by Medicare when the physician (or immediate family member) has a financial relationship with the entity performing the DHS. On March 30, 2020, CMS announced a number of Stark Law
CMS Expands Medicare Telehealth Benefits During Public Health Emergency
CMS has expanded Medicare telehealth benefits on a temporary and emergency basis pursuant to the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. Starting March 6, 2020, Medicare will pay for office, hospital, and other visits furnished via telehealth provided by doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers. The HHS Office of Inspector
Medicare Update: You Could Face Big Penalties for the Failure to Report
CMS has released a Proposed Rule specifying how and when it must impose penalties on responsible reporting entities (RREs) that fail to meet their Section 111 reporting obligations. Here are the highlights:
- The Proposed Rule indicates that the maximum penalty of $1,000.00 per day per claimant would be adjusted annually for inflation. So for 2020,
Who You Affiliate with Could Jeopardize Your Medicare Enrollment
On September 10, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register which will require Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) providers and suppliers to disclose current and previous affiliations with other providers and suppliers who CMS identifies as posing an undue risk of fraud,
CMS Posts Revisions to Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol
By the Kean Miller Health Law Team
On March 27, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted revisions to the Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP), which provides a process for the disclosure of potential or actual violations of the federal physician self-referral law (commonly known as the Stark Law). In an attempt
Medicare’s Commercial Repayment Center Means Business: Swift Deadlines on Conditional Payment Notices and Demand Letters
Historically, the Benefits Coordination and Recovery Center (“BCRC”) arm of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) collected Medicare’s conditional payments. While the BCRC continues to address Medicare’s reimbursement rights with Medicare beneficiaries, in late 2015 the CMS’s Commercial Repayment Center (“CRC”) took over responsibility for seeking reimbursement directly from Applicable Plans. Applicable Plans
CMS Issues Final Rule for Face-to-Face Requirements for Home Health Services Covered by Medicaid
The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (“CMS”) issued a final rule on February 2, 2016 regarding the requirements for a face-to-face encounter for patients receiving home health services payable by Medicaid. In order to ensure that states and providers appropriately implement the provisions in the final rule, CMS revised
CMS Issues Final Rule for Reporting and Returning Overpayments
On February 12, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) promulgated the final rule on the requirement that providers and suppliers receiving funds under the Medicare program report and return overpayments by the later of sixty (60) days after the date on which the overpayment was identified
CMS and ONC Issue Final Rule Modifying Meaningful Use Requirements
On August 29, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued a final rule modifying the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. While CMS is responsible for managing the EHR incentive programs and meaningful use, ONC is responsible