Posted by Jason Greis on March 29, 2010 under Whitepapers | 
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...
Tags: false claims act, greisguide, greisguidetoltachs, hospital, jason greis, julie ann sullivan, ltac, LTACH, LTCH, mcguirewoods, scott becker
Posted by Jason Greis on March 28, 2010 under Articles |
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...
Tags: bundling, CBO, cms, doctor, equipment utilization assumption rate, ffs, grassley, greisguide, greisguidetoltachs, Health Care and Education Affordability Act of 2010, hhs, hr 4691, imaging, independent payment advisory board, ipab, jason greis, long term acute care hospital, long term care hospital, ltac, LTACH, LTCH, medicare, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC, obama, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, pha, physician, physician-owned hospital, primary care physician, radiologist, sgr, sustainable growth rate, tort reform
Posted by Jason Greis on March 23, 2010 under Articles |
Late last week the Illinois Supreme Court (the Court) issued its long-anticipated decision in the case of Provena Covenant Medical Center v. Illinois Department of Revenue (Provena). The Court’s opinion, delivered by Justice Karmeier, upheld the Illinois Department of Revenue (Revenue) Director Brian Hamer’s ruling that Provena Covenant Medical Center, located in Urbana, Ill. (PCMC), did not provide enough charity care services to justify the continuation of its charitable purpose property tax exemption. The Court’s opinion noted that PCMC’s parent company, Provena Hospitals, was the true property owner of PCMC, and that Provena Hospitals itself was not a charitable institution nor did it primarily serve charitable purposes. Furthermore, the Court held that PCMC provided only minimal levels of charity care thus the property was not being primarily used for charitable purposes. The Court’s decision will be problematic for not-for-profit hospitals, including LTACHs, because it leaves a key question unanswered—just how much charity must a hospital provide to justify an exemption? The decision is expected to encourage local taxing bodies to pursue efforts to remove tax exemptions of not-for-profit hospitals and other providers. Read More...
Tags: 501(c)(3), ALF, exemption, greisguide, greisguidetoltachs, hospital, illinois, jason greis, jeff clark, jim riley, joseph hylak-reinholtz, julie ann sullivan, korzen, long term acute care hospital, ltac, LTACH, LTCH, mcguirewoods, not-for-profit, property tax, provena, skilled nursing, snf
Posted by Jason Greis on March 9, 2010 under eNewsletter |
This issue of the GreisGuide to LTACHs Newsletter contains articles and information on: Read More...
Tags: 2010, february, greisguide, GreisGuide to LTACHs, January, jason greis, long term care hospital, ltac, LTACH, LTCH, mcguirewoods, newsletter
Posted by Jason Greis on March 8, 2010 under Articles |
Over the past year, the LTACH industry has worked tirelessly to ensure extension of the LTACH provisions contained in the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (Public Law No 110-173) (“MMSEA”). Most importantly for LTACHs, Section 114 of MMSEA (i) established new LTACH facility criteria, (ii) provides a three-year moratorium on the establishment and classification of new LTACHs, LTACH satellite facilities, and LTACH beds in existing LTACHs or LTACH satellite facilities, and (iii) provides a three-year regulatory reprieve from certain harmful Medicare payment policies, including providing relief from the “25% Rule,” the very short stay outlier policy and a one-time prospective adjustment to the LTACH standard amount. Read More...
Tags: 2007, 25%, acute long term hospital association, altha, extend, greisguide, greisguidetoltachs, hr 3590, hr 4213, jason greis, ltac, LTACH, LTCH, mmsea, moratorium, nalth, national association of long term hospitals, very short stay
Posted by Jason Greis on March 5, 2010 under Industry News |
Congratulations to James (Jim) Prister, a NALTH Board member and President and CEO of RML Specialty Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital located in Hinsdale, Illinois focusing on weaning ventilator-dependent patients. Jim was chosen to be the 2010 chair of the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Section for Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation (see Press Release). As chair, Jim will lead the section’s governing council which advises the AHA on public policy issues of concern to all post-acute and continuing care providers. The governing council represents executives from among the nation’s leading LTACHs, rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health and continuing care services. Read More...
Tags: aha, american hospital association, Chair, greisguide, greisguidetoltachs, james prister, jason greis, jim prister, ltac, LTACH, LTCH, nalth, rml, Section for Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation
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