On February 9, 2018, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, providing a two-year budget agreement that increases federal spending, funds disaster relief efforts, and amends a number of healthcare programs, among a host of other changes.

While the Act has broad implications for many aspects of U.S. law, one amendment in particular should

The deadline for required enrollment with Medicaid under the Federal 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) is fast approaching. Currently, Medicaid Managed Care providers are sending mass mailings to their participating providers with notices of required compliance.

By December 1, 2017 certain participating healthcare providers of New York State Medicaid Managed Care plans or the

The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) issued a report last month regarding inappropriate payments made to acute-care hospitals for outpatient services provided to Medicare beneficiaries who were inpatients of other facilities. OIG’s findings highlight the need to diligently review claims before submitting them to Medicare.

In

A recent Compliance Alert published by the New York State Office of Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) underscores the need for Medicaid providers to re-evaluate their compliance programs in light of a shift toward new payment methodologies.

On August 31, OMIG published its first Compliance Alert of 2017, entitled “Mandatory Compliance Programs’ Risk Assessments: Changes in

Steven Shapiro has published an article in Natural Products Insider entitled, “A Legal Look at the Definition of ‘Clean Label’.”

Click here to read the article.

Steven Shapiro weighed in on the FDA’s warning letter to JÙS By Julie over health claims. The company markets a variety of blended ready-to-drink blended smoothies and shots as well as soups and salads.

Steve compared JÙS By Julie’s situation to similar letters issued to 14 U.S. companies that were fraudulently promoting their products as treatments for cancer.

On March 27, 2017, the U.S. Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released a new compliance program guide, Measuring Compliance Program Effectiveness—A Resource Guide (the “Guide”). The Guide was developed by compliance professionals and staff from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and OIG, as an effort to help healthcare organizations measure the effectiveness

In an increasingly intense and unforgiving regulatory environment, all healthcare organizations — from small physician practice groups to large health systems — must closely scrutinize areas where they may be vulnerable to fraud and abuse allegations. Corporate compliance programs are useful in this effort, but only if they are well-constructed and aggressively implemented, not merely

Alan Rutkin article entitled, “Insight – A Lesson in Cyber,” has been published in the November 2016 issue of Best’s Review magazine.

Click here to read the article.

Best’s Review:  November 2016. Copyrighted A.M. Best Company, Inc. 2016.  All Rights Reserved, Reprinted with Permission.

Caffeine seems to have been around forever. I do not remember my first cup of coffee or my first can of cola, but I do remember the over-the-counter (OTC) stimulant drug products containing 200 mg of caffeine that were an absolute necessity for most of my classmates to survive freshman year of college and first