The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 20 that it has brought criminal charges against 18 defendants across the U.S. for various fraud schemes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOJ seized more than $16 million in cash and other proceeds from the schemes, which resulted in more than $490 million in false…

On the heels of New York’s Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) releasing updated compliance requirements, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced today that it will also be updating and modifying its voluntary compliance guidance documents.

The OIG’s stated purpose for the modifications is to improve…

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued Dear Adult Care Facility Administrator Letter (DACF) #23-02 on March 29 announcing that adult homes, enriched housing programs, and assisted living residences will have a new electronic Incident Reporting mechanism—the Drupal Survey. The Drupal Survey will replace the previous incident reporting method via the Health Commerce…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on April 11 that the Notifications of Enforcement Discretion issued under HIPAA and the HITECH Act during the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will expire when the PHE ends on May 11.

The four Notifications of Enforcement Discretion that will…

As previously discussed here, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget contained a bill that, if passed, would be transformative for certain healthcare transactions. Gov. Hochul’s proposal was dropped from both one-house budgets proposed by the New York State Senate and Assembly.

While its passage appears unlikely, the final budget is now delayed past…

In the next installment of Rivkin Radler’s Healthcare Compliance Lunch & Learn series, Rivkin Radler’s Bob Hussar will discuss the third and fourth required elements of an Effective Compliance Program:

  • Training
  • Effective lines of communication

Bob is a partner in Rivkin Radler’s Compliance, Investigations & White Collar and Health Services practice groups. The program will…

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a settlement with a Missouri neurosurgeon and his fiancée regarding alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). The parties agreed to pay $825,000 to settle the case.

The neurosurgeon and his fiancée were accused of receiving impermissible kickbacks from spinal implant companies…

An article in the March 20 issue of the Report on Medicare Compliance, “New NYS Compliance-Program Requirements May Be Useful Everywhere as a ‘Fresh Look,’” discussed the final compliance and self-disclosure regulations released by the New York Office of Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) on December 28. Rivkin Radler’s Bob Hussar was quoted in…