Blog

Florida recently became the latest state to enact legislation protecting consumers from unexpected medical bills through balance billing.  Unexpected “balance billing” happens when a patient is unaware that they are receiving treatment from a medical provider that is not covered under his or her health insurance plan (i.e., a provider who is “out-of-network”). This may Read more →

The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has officially started the second phase of HIPAA Audits, which will include “Business Associates” for the first time.  When HHS-OCR previously conducted Phase 1 (the “pilot” phase) of its audits, it focused exclusively on “covered entities” such as hospitals, doctors’ offices, and Read more →

The government has released its annual HCFAC Report for fiscal year 2015.  In the report, the government touts its recovery of $2.4 billion through civil and criminal enforcement efforts.  Of that amount, approximately $1.6 billion was returned to the Medicare Trust Funds, approximately $386 million was paid to federal agencies for restitution/compensatory damages, and approximately Read more →

Lincare, a major provider of in-home respiratory care and other services, will pay $238,900 in civil monetary penalties for violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), federal authorities announced Wednesday.  The civil monetary penalty was challenged, but now has been upheld by an administrate law judge (ALJ). The Breach Incident at Lincare’s Wynne Read more →

On February 9, 2016, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit determined that a District Court has jurisdiction to order HHS to address the significant backlog in the Medicare appeals process.  This decision follows an appeal to the U.S. District Court of Appeals by the American Hospital Association, which brought Read more →