CMS Proposes Rule to Cross-Privilege Physicians Practicing Telemedicine

Posted by Jason Greis on June 23, 2010 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

Telemedicine consultations are often provided by physicians at large hospitals, often called “distant-site” hospitals (See § 1834(1)(m)(4)(A) of the Social Security Act), to patients at smaller ones, such as those in rural areas. Physicians providing these consultations are privileged and credentialed at their home institutions, but often not, at the outset, at the hospitals to which they provide their advice electronically, which for purposes of this discussion, we refer to as local hospitals. Read More...

Virtues and Vices of Medicare Episode of Care Payment Bundling: A Look at PPACA’s Pilot Program

Posted by Jason Greis on April 30, 2010 under Presentations | Be the First to Comment

The attached presentation addressing the potential benefits and drawbacks of CMS’s Pilot Program under PPACA to develop an episode of care bundled payment model for acute care, post-acute care, physician and outpatient services was presented at the Chicago Bar Association on Friday, April 30, 2010.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Read More...

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – Provisions Impacting Institutional Providers

Posted by Jason Greis on under Articles | Be the First to Comment

The below CMS e-mail alert was distributed via grouplist on Thursday, April 22, 2010 and impacts LTACHs, among other institutional providers. Read More...

Exploring the Adverse Impact of Federal Healthcare Reform on Physician-Owned Hospitals

Posted by Jason Greis on April 1, 2010 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

After almost a year of heated debate, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (P.L. 111-148) (“PPACA” or the “Act”) on March 23, 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) (“HCEAA”) on March 30, 2010.  While many of these laws’ provisions are benign, some contain “bombshells” that will permanently alter the business and regulatory landscape for certain businesses.  One such provision is contained in Section 6001 of PPACA, which significantly curbs physician ownership and investment in hospitals by restricting application of the Federal Ethics in Patient Referrals Act’s (the “Stark Law”) statutory “whole-hospital exception.” Read More...

Eleven Things to Know about the False Claims Act

Posted by Jason Greis on March 29, 2010 under Whitepapers | Be the First to Comment

In today’s era of increased fraud and abuse enforcement, it’s imperative that all individuals working in any facet of the healthcare industry be familiar with the basics of the False Claims Act and its recent evolution into a powerful regulatory tool for the government and private citizens.  The McGuireWoods white paper “Eleven Things to Know About the False Claims Act” is a useful primer to help individuals identify potential violations of the False Claims Act.  It will also help individuals better understand how the Act is enforced against and applied within the healthcare industry, including individual providers, medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. Read More...

When MedPAC Speaks Congress Listens: What the Inclusion of MedPAC Health Care Delivery Reform Proposals in Health Care Reform Legislation Means for Physicians

Posted by Jason Greis on March 28, 2010 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

On March 1, 2010, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (“MedPAC” or the “Commission”) released its 2010 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy (the “Final Report”) recommending annual Medicare payment updates for Medicare fee-for-service (“FFS”) payment systems, including among others, hospitals (including both general acute care and long term care hospitals) and physicians.  MedPAC is an independent congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to formulate recommendations to Congress to address quality and cost-containment issues affecting the Medicare program and its beneficiaries.  Two reports, issued in March and June each year, are the primary outlets for MedPAC’s policy and payment system updates, which change base rates paid by Medicare for a unit of service provided by a FFS provider—for example, a hospital admission or a physician visit or procedure.  Recommended payment system updates are based on an assessment of payment adequacy that takes into account beneficiaries’ access to care, supply of providers, quality of care, providers’ access to capital and Medicare margins.  Read More...