The Stark law and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) are the U.S. healthcare system’s primary fraud and abuse laws, and highly anticipated proposed reform plans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) were finally unveiled on Oct. 17, 2019. The proposed reforms would 1) clarify certain requirements…
Trump Administration Proposes Changes to Healthcare Anti-Kickback Rules
(Reuters)—The Trump administration has proposed changes to federal anti-kickback provisions that restrict the kinds of patient referrals doctors can make, saying it will improve healthcare coordination and foster payments based on the quality of care. The plan will change how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) enforces the Physician Self Referral Law,…
How to Avoid Legal Pitfalls
In busy rheumatology practices, mountains of paperwork for insurance companies and federal healthcare programs make it hard to keep track of what’s legal. Missing documentation is the most common way to spark an investigation. Here are a few considerations to help you avoid legal pitfalls…