On August 7, 2018, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued Advisory Opinion No. 18-08, which evaluated a proposal by six government-operated fire departments (the “Departments”) to enter into a mutual aid agreement to provide unscheduled, backup emergency ambulance services (“Backup Services”)…
As reported in CMS’s MLNConnects (click here for release), CMS recently proposed significant regulatory changes that would reduce the burden of Medicare paperwork and thereby increase the amount of time that physicians and other clinicians can spend with their patients. The proposed rules are…
Whether you are the Privacy Officer, the Security Officer, or both, the question remains the same. When was the last time you scheduled a "walk through" of your work space for the sole purpose of looking into the "eyeballs" of your personnel and finding out what they are really doing (or not doing)…
The Joint Commission (“JC”) recently released a new Standards FAQ (“FAQ”) setting forth guidelines that should be followed when physicians or other licensed independent practitioners (“LIPs”) use documentation assistants (referred to herein as “scribes”) to assist with documentation. In the FAQ,…
On August 7, 2018, the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance on disposing of electronic devices and media1. This guidance is important for all healthcare providers as it applies to any covered entities or business associates that store ePHI on desktops, laptops, copiers, cell phones, USB…
The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) published a report in July of 2018 (“Report”) regarding weaknesses by Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (“MCO”) to identify fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program1. In general, the OIG found that MCOs lacked the controls and…
On June 1, 2018, the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline (the “Board”) issued a Final Rule to add a new regulation to Title 24, Chapter 1700 of the Delaware Administrative Code in order to clarify certain terms used in the telemedicine and telehealth statute found at Title 24,…
This article summarizes many of the notable health care laws that were passed during the 2018 legislative session, which includes laws that are effective July 1, 2018, as well as laws that are effective after July 1, 2018. These laws affect both healthcare institutions, as well as individual…
On May 24, 2018, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued Advisory Opinion No. 18-03, which evaluated a proposed arrangement between a federally qualified health center look-alike (the “Provider”) and a county health clinic (the “County Clinic”), whereby the Provider would supply telemedicine…
On June 19, 2018, the Family and Social Services Administration’s (“FSSA”) Indiana Health Coverage Programs (“IHCP”) released provider bulletin BT201829 regarding revising the timely filing limit for Medicaid fee-for-service claims. Beginning January 1, 2019, Medicaid fee-for-service claims will be…
A recent Indiana case involving a non-compete in the healthcare field is worth review. In Great Lakes Anesthesia, P.C. v. O’Bryan, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that a restrictive covenant between an independent anesthesia group and two of its hospital-based CRNAs was unenforceable once the…
On May 17, 2018, the Family and Social Services Administration (“FSSA”) published a final rule, LSA Document #17-552 (“Final Rule”), to update and extend Indiana’s Hospital Assessment Fee (“HAF”) program.[1] The Final Rule amends 405 IAC 1-8-5 and 405 IAC 1-10.5-7 to extend the HAF program through…
