Articles and Blogs

Amazon is taking strides to enter one of the most complex of industries: health care. In late 2016, Amazon began investigating the possibilities of leveraging its supply chain to meet health care consumers’ needs. Amazon Business, Amazon’s current supply chain platform, has already transformed the supply chain industry, generating over $1 billion in sales... READ MORE

The single largest and most unexpected change proposed in the 2018 Proposed PPS Rule is the announcement that the Home Health Groupings Model (“HHGM”) will be implemented as of January 1, 2019. Although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a detailed technical report on the HHGM last fall, the industry did not... READ MORE

On August 15, 2017, CMS released for public inspection a proposed rule that would: Cancel the AMI, CABG and SHFFT episode payment models that are currently scheduled to begin on January 1, 2018. Cancel the cardiac rehabilitation incentive payment program that is currently scheduled to begin on January 1, 2018. Revise various aspects of... READ MORE

Just over half a year into the new administration, significant developments have occurred that may permanently alter the landscape of the 340B drug discount program (“340B Program”), developments so significant that the mainstream news media has started to take notice.[1] As 340B Program participating “Covered Entities” and their contract pharmacy partners work to develop... READ MORE

NATIONAL 7 statistics on physician compensation — average sign on bonus is $18k Elderly may be blocked from suing nursing homes for neglect, abuse 25% of Physicians Dissatisfied with Provider Compensation Rates 9 hospitals, health systems opening or planning ASCs — July 2017 Non-physician providers, support staff a driving factor behind more profitable physician... READ MORE

Recently, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced it had entered into a $42 million settlement (“Settlement”)[1] with the owners of a California acute care hospital (“Parent Company”) to resolve allegations that the Parent Company had violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare and MediCal (California Medicaid) programs. The Parent Company... READ MORE

NATIONAL Health system and physician group alignment: The strategies that don’t work — and those that do New Senate bill seeks to reduce restrictions on telemedicine use The vital role of hospital technology selection in achieving post-merger alignment Amazon has a secret health tech team called 1492 working on medical records, virtual doc visits... READ MORE

On July 25, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a provider-friendly decision in Allina Health Services v. Price, Case No. 16-5255 (more commonly known as Allina II), reversing the negative decision the hospitals received at the district court level. The court’s reversal stems from its reasoning that the “pre-2004... READ MORE

The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently published work plans and reports detailing their intent to increase enforcement and audits of eligible providers who received meaningful use EHR incentive payments. Eligible providers should anticipate increased government scrutiny of past and future meaningful use EHR incentive payments... READ MORE

Senate Votes Down ACA Repeal Attempt In the early morning of July 28, the Senate voted down (49-51) a last ditch effort by Senate Republican leadership to repeal the ACA. Republican leadership and the White House were hoping to pass a “skinny” ACA repeal bill that would have eliminated the individual mandate and blocked... READ MORE