After a long quiet period, the second HIPAA settlement to be announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in an orchestrated one-two punch was far more costly to the second violator. Lifespan Health System Affiliated Covered Entity paid $1,040,000 to HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in June for failing to

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on July 23 that Metropolitan Community Health Services (Metro) paid $25,000 to HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to resolve HIPAA violations. Metro, a Federally Qualified Health Center, operates two multidisciplinary medical clinics in eastern North Carolina under the name of Agape Health Services.

Metro

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have released the 2019 annual report for their Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program. The government recovered almost $3.6 billion, of which about $2.5 billion was returned to the Medicare trust fund. The recoveries included judgments and settlements from fraud

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on July 17 that it will begin distributing a second round of funding to hospitals in “high impact COVID-19 areas.” The funding is intended to address the recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.

The funding is based on data submitted by hospitals about

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is adding $198 million in funding to the Rural Health Care Program to help healthcare providers acquire telecommunications and broadband services. The funding is in addition to $200 million that was allocated to the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). About

On July 13, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced the adoption of revised Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations in an effort to improve care coordination for substance abuse patients and reduce the burdens on their providers. The revisions to the regulations, commonly known as the Part 2 Rules

Eric Fader, Jeff Kaiser, Chris Kutner, Ada Kozicz and Ben Malerba are authors of the newly released book, “The Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and Safe Harbors: A Practical Guide.”

Published by the American Bar Association, the book covers all safe harbors currently in place, as well as the interplay between the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and other

Community Medicaid Services will undergo a significant change on October 1, 2020, due to the passage of the New York State Budget Bill (“2020 Bill”). Although many of the changes in the 2020 Bill are subject to federal approval, this bulletin will offer an overview of what might be affected. You can take steps now