RECENT HEALTH LAW NEWS

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on October 23 that Jackson Health System (JHS) in Miami has received a civil money penalty of $2,154,000 for violations of HIPAA’s Security and Breach Notification Rules. OCR Director Roger Severino said, “OCR’s investigation revealed a HIPAA compliance program that had

Steven Shapiro will be a speaker on a webinar offered by the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) entitled “Compliance with FDA’s Revised Nutrition Labeling Regulations for Herbal Supplements.” Scheduled for October 29 from 1-3 pm, the program will offer an overview of new federal nutrition labeling requirements, which take effect Jan. 1, 2020, for manufacturers

In an October 21 blog post titled “The Future of Medicare Program Integrity,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma described a new five-pronged approach to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program. The five “pillars” of the initiative are:

• Stop bad actors. CMS works with the Office of

On October 10, the New York State Department of Financial Services released a proposed amendment to the state’s Out-of-Network Law. If approved, the amendment would require insurance companies and healthcare providers to comply with several new requirements to better protect consumers from “surprise” medical bills.

Insurers that receive a claim for services rendered by a

As part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care,” the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) coordinated their efforts in issuing proposed changes to the federal fraud and abuse laws which prohibit certain patient referrals. The changes are intended

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced fraud charges against 35 individuals in five federal districts for defrauding Medicare of more than $2.1 billion in medically unnecessary genetic testing. The announcement of the coordinated actions, which involved dozens of telemedicine companies and genetic testing laboratories, eight physicians and two nurse practitioners, was foreshadowed by a Fraud

A recent settlement between a Texas dental practice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) demonstrates that healthcare providers must think twice before sharing any information on social media that can be linked to a patient.

OCR investigated Elite Dental Associates of Dallas after receiving a patient complaint

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) kicked its healthcare fraud enforcement activities into high gear last week, unveiling charges against hundreds of individuals and companies for paying kickbacks and billing for unnecessary drugs, supplies and tests. The cases, which alleged nearly $1.5 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers, targeted specialty pharmacies,

Last week, Pillo Health announced a collaboration with Stanley Black & Decker to assist elderly people and their caregivers. The companies’ Pria “personal medication assistant” (or, alternatively, “smart healthcare companion”) can dispense a week’s worth of pills on a prearranged schedule and also provides alerts, two-way video calling capability, and real-time monitoring via a mobile

As Medicare open enrollment approaches, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on August 27 the launch of a redesigned Medicare Plan Finder tool. This new tool makes it easier for customers to compare pricing, coverage, and drug plans of Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and Part D programs. The Plan Finder tool is