Same-sex married couples now have expanded Medicare enrollment options, HHS announces
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 04, 2014
Seniors now are eligible to receive premium-free Medicare Part A coverage if they are married to someone of the same sex, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday.
Congress leaves Medicare and Medicaid untouched in $1.1 trillion spending bill
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 16, 2014
The $1.1 trillion spending bill passed by the Senate on Saturday will fund the government through September 2015, without any major changes to Medicare or Medicaid.
Senators press for SNF survey changes in light of adverse events report
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 07, 2014
The skilled nursing facility survey process is failing to ensure resident safety and needs to be improved, two prominent senators said in a recent letter to the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Hospice to pay $3 million to settle Medicare fraud whistleblower case
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 07, 2013
A Florida-based hospice provider has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging false Medicare claims, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Post-acute care largely explains geographic differences in Medicare spending, report affirms
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 29, 2013
Geographic variances in post-acute care largely account for differences in Medicare spending patterns, supporting healthcare reform measures that encourage better acute and post-acute coordination, according...
Court expresses concern over Omnicare drug packaging practices but dismisses False Claims suit
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 26, 2014
A whistleblower exposed disturbing drug packaging practices being used by long-term care pharmacy Omnicare Inc., but the charges don’t fall under the False Claims Act, a federal appeals court recently...
Providers charging even $1 per page for EHR access could be violating HIPAA, report warns
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 13, 2015
Long-term care providers that charge people to access their electronic health records might be violating federal law, according to recently released findings from the American Health Information Management...
CMS should publicly push Congress to reform therapy payment system, long-term care provider association...
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 09, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should openly urge Congress to change the way therapy services are reimbursed, the nation’s largest long-term care provider association stated in recent...
Omnicare off the hook in drug packaging case after Supreme Court passes
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 09, 2014
Long-term care pharmacy Omnicare will not face False Claims Act penalties for drug packaging practices that apparently ran afoul of safety regulations. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up the...
Feds join suit against hospitalist company
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 01, 2014
The federal government has joined in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that a large hospitalist company engaged in systematic “upcoding” of Medicare and Medicaid claims.