As reported in mid-July by the Associated Press, the federal government – the FBI and Justice Department specifically – recently upended the activities of a North Korean government sponsored hacking group that has targeted U.S. hospitals. Following a cyberattack last year, a Kansas hospital contacted the FBI after paying a ransom to cybercriminals that
On July 20, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert for telemedicine, telehealth, and telemarketing services. During the pandemic, the OIG has responded to the expansion of telehealth services by aggressively pursuing fraud investigations against providers. Using these as examples, the OIG
The American Medical Association (AMA) website reported on AMA President Jack Resneck Jr., M.D.’s July 19, 2022 testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on the impact of the SCOTUS Dobbs decision on physicians and patients. Dr. Resneck highlights how, in the AMA’s view, physicians are now placed
On the heels of last month’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court reversing cuts by the federal government to hospitals reimbursed under the federal 340B program, this past Friday the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its anticipated 2023 Hospital Outpatient Payment proposed rule. As discussed by Nick Hut of the Healthcare Financial
On June 10, 2022, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey filed an opinion in Petro v. Platkin, which has been approved for publication and thus will have precedential effect. The unanimous panel affirmed an Order entered by Judge Robert Lougy on April 1, 2020, dismissing the complaint challenging the validity
Following the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, attorneys and legal scholars are anticipating an avalanche of legal and practical issues emanating from the fact that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Vesting
Among the numerous decisions making headlines by the U.S. Supreme Court in recent weeks was a lesser noted decision impacting the Medicare reimbursement to healthcare facilities across the country. In a rare unanimous decision, the Court held that the federal government improperly lowered drug reimbursement payments to hospitals and clinics that serve low-income communities.
Under
In 2016, Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act to drive the electronic access, exchange, and use of health information. On March 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) released its Final Rule, which established exceptions to the Act’s information blocking provision
Economics 101 taught us that in a capitalist economy, prices are generally set by the market. This is also true, by and large, for healthcare services planned in advance – for providers in-network, insurers negotiate these rates. For providers out-of-network, healthcare consumers can agree to either pay the amount charged less the out-of-network reimbursement or
New Jersey has proposed additional legislation (A4091 and S2729) to adopt the state’s County Option Hospital Fee Pilot Program on a permanent basis. The proposed legislation is currently being reviewed by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and it is anticipated it will be enacted, expanding the program from the current seven participating counties (Atlantic,