For those providers who somehow missed or ignored the first 15 settlements in the series, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that Sharp HealthCare, doing business as Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers, agreed to pay a $70,000 fine for failing to provide a patient with timely access
Flo Health Settles with FTC Over Privacy Violations
Flo Health, Inc., which markets a menstrual and ovulation tracking app, recently entered into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to dispose of charges that Flo improperly shared consumer data with third parties, including Facebook and Google. The disclosure of the data, which included pregnancy status and sexual history of more than 100
Two Indicted in $100 Million Home Health Care Fraud Scheme
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on February 1 that an owner and operator of Arbor Homecare Services LLC and a nurse employed by the home health agency were indicted for their roles in a scheme to defraud MassHealth and Medicare of at least $100 million. The Massachusetts agency allegedly routinely billed the government
EHR Vendor to Pay $18.25 Million to Resolve Kickback Allegations
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on January 28 that athenahealth Inc., a Massachusetts-based electronic health records (EHR) technology vendor, has agreed to pay $18.25 million to resolve allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to generate sales of its EHR product, athenaClinicals. The settlement is the government’s latest reminder that marketing initiatives that are
CMS Clarifies RPM Reimbursement
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released corrections to its 2021 Physician Fee Schedule final rule that was published on December 28. Some of the corrections clarify reimbursement requirements for remote patient monitoring (RPM), which entails gathering and interpreting physiologic data from patients at home.
The December 28 final rule had stated
Yet Another HIPAA Right of Access Settlement
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the 14th settlement in its ongoing HIPAA Right of Access Initiative. Banner Health, a Phoenix-based health system that operates 30 hospitals and many other healthcare facilities, agreed to pay $200,000 for failing to provide patients with timely access to their medical
HHS Rule Blocks Enforcement Actions Based Solely on Guidance
On January 12, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule on “Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement Actions.” The rule, which was effective immediately, states that HHS can rely only on statutes and regulations in bringing civil enforcement actions. Standards set forth in agency guidance documents
NY Gov. Cuomo Proposes Expanded Telehealth Access
In his 2021 State of the State Address on January 10, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced legislation to expand access to telehealth. The proposals will adjust reimbursement incentives to encourage telehealth, relax or eliminate outdated regulatory restrictions on the delivery of telehealth services, and establish training programs for patients and providers and other programs
AOT Orders a Useful Tool during COVID Pandemic
The pandemic has prompted the reallocation of hospital beds from psychiatric care to treatment of COVID patients. This has occurred as mental illness has been on the rise. To cope with the insufficient number of psychiatric beds, it is important for hospitals to curtail readmissions. An often-underutilized tool to do so is the assisted outpatient