Below is a recent listserve published by the  McGuireWoods LLP health care group. Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Update – Spring 2009 This listserve is a continuation of a series of listserves updating our clients on developments surrounding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) claims and activity Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs). Future updates will [...]

Scott Becker, Bart Walker and Lainey Gilmer have recently authored a white paper titled “ASC Transactions: An Overview and Primer of Key Issues.” This White Paper provides an overview of some of the key business and legal issues associated with ambulatory surgery center buy and sell transactions.  A copy of the White Paper is available [...]

RAC Audit Preparation – 7 Key Steps By: Elissa Moore and Lainey Gilmer   After a short delay, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) roll-out of the Recovery Audit Contractor (“RAC”) program will be implemented in all states by the year 2010.  As of March 1, 2009, the four national RACs[1] have commenced [...]

McGuireWoods LLP will host its 7th Annual Business & Legal Issues in Dialysis & Nephrology Symposium on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at the Sofitel Chicago O’Hare. For more information, please click here. Online registration is now available. Please contact Andrea Fisher at afisher@mcguirewoods.com or 312.750.8896 for more information. document.getElementById(“post-611-blankimage”).onload();

    The North Carolina Senate passed the North Carolina Health Plan (the “Plan”) fix by a vote of 28 to 18 on Tuesday.[1]  The Senate vote had been delayed for over a week due to objections from independent pharmacists over the proposed requirement that Plan members must obtain drugs for chronic conditions (i.e., diabetes [...]

RAC Appeals By Elissa Moore and Jessica Smith The RAC program, authorized by Congress in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and made permanent in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, is intended to detect and correct improper payments in the Medicare program.  More than 1 billion Medicare claims are submitted every [...]

Physician/ASC Self-Referral Law Signed by New Jersey Governor By: Bart Walker and Amber Walsh  On March 21, Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey signed into law a bill that amends the State’s existing physician self-referral statute in order to provide greater clarity in the area of ambulatory surgery center referrals and to make several other [...]

Following is a news alert I co-authored with two of my colleagues at McGuireWoods: On March 6, 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a transmittal implementing a final rule from the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for fiscal year 2008 requiring disclosure of physician ownership or investment in physician-owned hospitals. Beginning [...]

  On March 11, 2009 the North Carolina Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation that would appropriate $250 Million from the State’s Health Benefit Reserve Fund for the 2008-2009 fiscal year (ending June 30, 2009) and another $609 Million for the next two fiscal years.  According to Senate Bill 287 (the “Bill”), these funds will be [...]

UNCC’s Center for Professional and Applied Ethics, in connection with Charlotte Area Health Education Center, is hosting a conference on End-Of-Life Care Decisions, including advance directive changes and the new MOST form (Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment). It will be held Friday, April 17, 2009 from 9:00am – 4:30pm at UNC-Charlotte. Please visit www.charlotteahec.org [...]

On February 27, an Arkansas Court issued a permanent injunction against Baptist Health, prohibiting its economic credentialing policy. This case represents the most recent episode in two distinct, long-running battles currently being waged in the healthcare provider space:  (1) the struggle between hospitals and physicians over credentialing standards (specifically economic factors) and (2) the conflict [...]

The March 10, 2009 issue of the North Carolina Healthcare Report is now available. Please click here to download. document.getElementById(“post-539-blankimage”).onload();

Three of our colleagues at McGuireWoods have collaborated to author a white paper titled “11 Key Concepts from the Stark Law.” This paper was written by Scott Becker, Ji Hye Kim and Jessica Smith. A copy of the white paper can be found here: http://www.mcguirewoods.com/news-resources/publications/health_care/11%20Key%20%20Concepts.pdf  Author Contact Information: Scott Becker, Partner 312.750.6016 | sbecker@mcguirewoods.com Ji [...]

McGuireWoods will host its 7th annual Dialysis and Nephrology Symposium on Wednesday May 13 at the Sofitel O’Hare in Chicago. This will be an all-day event and an excellent opportunity to gain valuable insight into the dialysis and nephrology industries. Full details follow after the break. document.getElementById(“post-485-blankimage”).onload();

Two of our colleagues at McGuireWoods, Kim Kannensohn and Ryan Higgins, have authored a short piece on the key changes to HIPAA included in the recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”). You can view a copy of their article after the break below or by following this link. You can reach Kim [...]

The February 27, 2009 issue of the North Carolina Healthcare Report is now available. Please click here to download. document.getElementById(“post-479-blankimage”).onload();