CMS posts specifics on staffing, payroll data collection for Five Star ratings
By
John Hall
Apr 15, 2015
The government has posted technical specifications showing long-term care facilities how to electronically submit staffing information based on payroll data under a new system that becomes mandatory in...
Slavitt, Conway rise in rank at CMS
By
John Hall
Feb 25, 2015
A number of internal promotions and a few staff acquisitions from a Health and Human Services’ insurance unit highlight a series of leadership changes at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,...
Provider groups push for RAC reform
By
John Hall
Feb 06, 2015
Hospital industry groups said Thursday they’d rather the government reform the Recovery Audit Contractor program than simply throw more money at fixing an onerous backlog of more than 800,000 Medicare...
OIG: Tougher 2016 probes
By
John Hall
Dec 04, 2015
Providers should expect more aggressive federal efforts to investigate healthcare fraud cases as the Department of Health & Human Services makes use of sophisticated data analytics in the coming year.
RAC groups battle provider plea for short-stay payment relief
By
John Hall
Feb 19, 2015
Third-party firms that audit Medicare bills for payment issues are pushing back hard against a hospital association plea for more favorable short-stay reimbursements, adding to the ongoing unwelcome specter...
CMS: Regional spending is a better benchmark for ACOs
By
John Hall
Mar 04, 2016
The government hopes to encourage accountable care organizations to extend their participation in performance-based risk arrangements by offering a new way to include payments based on regional spending...
Poorly coded doctor claims cost Medicare $33 million: OIG report
By
John Hall
May 11, 2015
The Health & Human Services’ Inspector General is advising the agency to have its Medicare contractors chase down more than $33 million that might have been overpaid to physicians as a result of...
Information security improves at Medicare contractors: OIG
By
John Hall
Apr 22, 2015
Information security at nine selected Medicare administrative contractors, at least as of two years ago, was improving, according to a recent report by the Department of Health & Human Services Office...
Providers ponder prospect of Supreme Court killing Obamacare
By
John Hall
Feb 26, 2015
Individuals struggling to make ends meet and long-term care providers relying on a solvent Medicaid program could be on opposite ends of the verdict when the U.S. Supreme Court begins deliberations on...
Government urges Highest Court to pass on nonprofit contraceptive mandate argument
By
John Hall
Mar 26, 2015
Government attorneys are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to not take up the issue of contraception mandates of the Affordable Care Act. A U.S. Court of Appeals has denied a Catholic coalition’s effort...