On January 22, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska granted a motion for summary judgment by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), upholding an extrapolation from a statistical sampling of claims for chiropractic services, to recover $37,580 in Medicare overpayments. Wisconsin Physician […]
Health Law Alert
HIPAA Audits Round Two: Is Your Organization Prepared?
On February 24, 2014, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it will begin a second round of HIPAA compliance audits. The audits will address compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules. The audit program will affect covered entities, […]
Federal Court Finds Stark/False Claims Act Applicable to Medicaid Claims
A Florida federal district court has allowed a qui tam case to proceed arising from claims submitted to a state Medicaid program due to a potential Stark law violation. In U.S. v. All Childrens Health System, the relator, who had worked for All Childrens for many years as a practice […]
HIPAA and CLIA Strengthen Rules on Direct Access to Laboratory Test Results
On February 6, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Office for Civil Rights jointly released final rules that give individuals direct access to lab test results. The new rules have implications for hospital labs, including reference labs, and allow individuals (or […]
New OCR Guidance on Disclosure of Mental Health Information under the HIPAA Privacy Rule
On February 20, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued guidance (the “Guidance”) addressing frequently asked questions about sharing mental health information under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The Guidance clarifies when HIPAA permits a health care provider to share information with a […]