On May 16, 2017, the Nebraska Legislature passed L.B. 268 that expands asset recovery for Medicaid beneficiaries. Under the new bill, the definition of “estate” will now include any real estate, personal property, or other assets in which a Medicaid beneficiary had any legal title or interest, at or just […]
Health Law Alert
IRS Actively Auditing Hospitals For 501(r) Compliance
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) added Section 501(r) to the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Section 501(r) of the Code put in place a number of new requirements for tax-exempt hospitals, including provisions related to financial assistance policies (FAP), limitations on charges, and billing and collection matters. […]
WannaCry Ransomware Attack: a Reminder of the Need for Robust Data Security
Sometime around May 16, 2017, the WannaCry “ransomworm” began propagating throughout the world, hitting the British national health system the hardest. Several hospitals around Britain had to cancel critical surgeries because WannaCry had encrypted medical records, making them unreadable to hospital staff. The ransomware asks for about $300 in Bitcoin […]
Compliance 2.0
DHHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson’s keynote address at the 2017 Health Care Compliance Association (“HCCA”) Compliance Institute in late April focused on the future of compliance, targeting several key themes: This is Compliance 2.0. IG Levinson noted that the compliance industry is about 20 years old and we are […]
Free or Discounted Local Transportation Permitted under New Safe Harbor
A new safe harbor under the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) permits providers to offer free or discounted transportation services to patients. The safe harbor permits both direct transportation offered to individuals, and shuttle services that follow a regular route, subject to a number of conditions. The conditions for the safe harbor […]