Health Care

ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Update. This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments. 

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), American Osteopathic Association (AOA), and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) will be forming a unified, single accreditation system for allopathic and osteopathic physicians in 2015. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on April 9th  a “historic” release of Medicare payment data to provide consumers with “unprecedented transparency on the medical services physicians provide and how much they are paid.” 

Earlier this week, CMS announced in its Final Call Letter that Medicare Advantage rates would rise an average of 0.4 percent in 2015, instead of falling 1.9 percent as proposed in February. 

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”) announced last week that same-sex married couples can now qualify for Medicare Part A and Part B special enrollment periods and reductions in late enrollment penalties.

Today, the three federal agencies charged with regulating components of health information technology (“Health IT”) issued their long-awaited Health IT Report: Proposed Strategy and Recommendations for a Risk-Based Framework (the “Report”). 

The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (HR 4302), signed by President Obama yesterday, contains a number of provisions that are important to clinical laboratories.

On March 28, 2014, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced the release of an online and iPad app-based security risk assessment (SRA) tool. 

With its March 31, 2014 denial of certiorari in U.S. ex rel. Nathan v. Takeda, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to wade into the ongoing debate over the degree of particularity with which a false claims relator must plead a violation of the federal Civil False Claims Act.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the upcoming deadlines for the third round of new applications to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP).

ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Update. This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments. 

On March 20, 2014, the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed a $1.2 billion judgment against Johnson & Johnson and its related companies over alleged Medicaid fraud stemming from the off-label marketing of the drug Risperdal. 

ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Update.  This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments.

Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced important changes to the Recovery Audit Program.

On March 7, 2014 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy paper as part of its on-going effort to urge state legislators to open health care markets to a broader range of providers. 

Cybersecurity is of increasing importance to health care organizations, given the growing trend of enforcement and increasing penalties. President Obama's Executive Order 13636: Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity included "the incapacity or destruction of [] systems and assets [that] would have a debilitating impact.

ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Update.  This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments.

Following an onslaught of criticism, CMS told Congress today that it will not move forward with certain controversial provisions of its proposed rule on the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

On March 1, 2014, Circular No. 50, which the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) recently promulgated to regulate the conduct of pharmaceutical and medical device companies that do business in China, went into effect.

Triple-S Management Corp. (“Triple-S”), a Puerto Rico-based health insurer, has been fined $6.8 million by the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration (“PRHIA”) following a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") breach by its subsidiary, Triple-S Salud Inc. (“TSS”), involving more than 13,000 beneficiaries.