CMS Memorandum for Texting Patient Information Among Healthcare Providers
June 21, 2018 By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Memorandum in an effort to clarify their stance and guidelines on texting between healthcare providers and staff. Texting Patient Orders is Not Permitted. CMS does […]
Compliance with Conditions of Participation Necessary for Reinstatement of Terminated Medicare Billing Privileges or Revoked Medicare Provider Number and Participation Agreement
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law We have recently experienced an alarming increase in the number of Medicare providers receiving notices that their Medicare billing privileges are being terminated. These include home health agencies (HHAs), independent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTFs), ambulance and emergency transport […]
Medicare Put the Hospice Industry Under the Microscope
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law It’s no surprise to anyone that Medicare is cracking down on hospices around the country. According to a report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), eighty-two percent (82%) of hospices’ claims did not meet Medicare coverage requirements. […]
Florida Pharmacy Owner Accused of Medicare Fraud
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A family that owns a number of South Florida pharmacies is allegedly under investigation for Medicare fraud, according to a number of sources. On January 17, 2013, federal authorities raided one pharmacy location in Naples, Florida. Drug Enforcement […]
Cardiologists Face Higher Scrutiny by CMS
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm As the U.S. population ages and heart disease continues to be a leading cause of health issues, cardiologists and cardiology practices are finding themselves billing Medicare for more and more visits and procedures. Along with that increase in reimbursement from Medicare comes an increase in scrutiny. […]
CMS Fights Medicare Fraud With Ban on New Home Health Agencies and Ambulance Suppliers in Three Cities
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will temporarily ban new home health providers and ambulance suppliers from enrolling in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health […]
Physician Payment Sunshine Act Deadline is Here-Are You Ready?
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm As of August 1, 2013, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act) goes into effect. The Sunshine Act, contained in Section 6002 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care […]
Trump Administration Reverses Guidelines for Penalties Against Nursing Homes
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Trump administration is actively reversing nursing home guidelines previously put in place under President Barack Obama. The current administration is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave […]
CMS Drops Florida Nursing Home From Medicare Program After 14 Patients Died During Storm
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 12, 2017, federal health officials announced they are dropping a Florida nursing home from the Medicare program after 14 patients died allegedly as a result of the Hurricane Irma emergency. On Sept. 13, 2017, eight residents […]