Increased Conversion Factors. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) passed by Congress and signed by President Trump...

On December 10, 2020, HHS released a 357-page Proposed Rule to amend HIPAA. Proposed rules typically become final about 6 months after...

1. More PRF Money. On December 16, 2020 HHS announced it would begin Phase III distributions of an additional $24 Billion in provider...

The CMS Final Rule for the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule was released December 1 and contains over 2,100 pages of information. ...

1. Effective Date. On November 20, 2020, CMS issued a Final Rule on Stark. There have been numerous “final” rules on Stark; this is...

On November 20, 2020, the Government issued two significant Final Rules, one relating to the Anti-kickback statute (“AKS”), and the other...

I received the following email from one of my clients, and I am passing it along in case this threat comes to fruition. We have learned a...

The OIG has released an update to its annual Work Plan particularly geared towards COVID-19 issues. The Work Plan is the OIG’s list of...

1. The "5 Rule." Today, the OIG released the results of a nationwide audit it has conducted on providers overbilling the 5 facet...

As you may remember, in addition to the Provider Relief Fund, CMS offered a loan program where you could accept a loan against future...

Just when you thought COVID had everyone locked up in their offices not doing anything, the DOJ just announced the largest fraud and...

Today HHS announced another $20 billion in provider relief funds in what is being called “Phase 3” provider relief funding. You can...

Previously I reported that on September 8, 2020, the AMA adopted a new CPT code, 99072, to capture additional PHE expenses. The first...

1. Settlements in Excess of $1mm. There have been two HIPAA settlements in excess of $1mm released by the OCR in the past 3 days, and...

On September 19, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released a six-page document with updated information on your...

1. Effective Date. Effective September 8, 2020, the AMA created a new CPT code for use in the office (not facility) during the PHE...

You need to bail out of Windows 7 if you haven't done so already. On January 14, 2020, Microsoft ended support for Windows 7, which...

The OCR issued a press release yesterday outlining the terms of a settlement with a hospital system in Rhode Island for $1,040,000...

Recently a client who was going to be traveling to the UK wanted to know if he could conduct and bill telehealth phone calls while in the...

Effective 8/31/20, you must begin using a newly approved CMS ABN form. The ABN form changes approximately every 3 years, and you cannot...

If you have not applied for your PPP loan, you still have a month to do so. Originally, the PPP loan application process was slated to...

On May 27 and June 16, CMS updated its FAQs regarding COVID-19 billing. The most important updates relate to the CS modifier, but there...

On June 13, HHS updated its FAQs with information regarding the quarterly reporting required for the Provider Relief Funds. For now,...

The purpose of this article is to remind you that if you received PPP funds or HHS Relief funds in excess of $150,000 (per TIN), you are...