The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the General Compliance Program Guidance (GCPG) on November 6, 2023. The GCPG provides updated descriptions of the seven elements of an effective compliance program that health care entities have long relied upon. The new guidance also includes
Roma Sharma
Roma Sharma is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Health Care Group. Roma primarily works with health care clients seeking to comply with regulations for state and federal health care programs, health care anti-fraud and abuse laws, and licensing laws.
Roma’s work incorporates her Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy as well as her past experiences as an extern at the Office of the General Counsel at the American Medical Association and as an intern at the Illinois Office of the Attorney General, Health Care Bureau.
ONC Releases a Framework for Nationwide Health Information Exchange
On January 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the entity chosen as a contracting partner, The Sequoia Project, Inc., published the long-awaited Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) for health information exchange. In simple terms, TEFCA is a framework that health information networks (HINs) may enter into to share health data with other HINs, individuals, and entities. The stated goal of TEFCA is to develop uniform policies and technical requirements to scale health information exchange nationwide and ensure that HINs, health care providers, health plans, individuals, and other stakeholders can access real-time, interoperable health information.
Continue Reading ONC Releases a Framework for Nationwide Health Information Exchange
11th Circuit Issues Long-Awaited Opinion in AseraCare Affirming that Mere Differences in Reasonable Clinical Judgement Cannot Be False Under the FCA and Remanding for New Trial and Consideration of Full Record
In a long-awaited opinion, on September 9, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in United States v. Aseracare, Inc., et al, unanimously vacated AseraCare’s False Claims Act (FCA) victory and remanded the case for further proceedings.[1] While this might seem a victory only for the Government at first blush, the opinion contains key takeaways for defendants that will likely reach far beyond just this case.
Importantly, even though the Eleventh Circuit vacated the district court’s grant of summary judgment to AseraCare, it affirmed the district court’s conclusion that a clinical judgment of terminal illness warranting hospice benefits under Medicare cannot be deemed false, for purposes of the FCA, when there is only a reasonable disagreement between medical experts as to the accuracy of that conclusion, with no other evidence to prove the falsity of the assessment. The Eleventh Circuit also concluded, however, that the Government should have been allowed to rely on the entire record, not just the trial record, to prove otherwise. The Government was precluded from doing so, the Court found, due to an earlier decision by the district court to bifurcate proceedings into two phases: one on falsity, and the other on the remaining elements of the FCA.
In affirming the district court’s holding regarding clinical judgment, the Eleventh Circuit remarked that it appears to be the “first circuit court to consider the precise question at issue here,”[2] and is an extraordinary move that provides hospice facilities, hospitals, and providers more generally with a degree of assurance that a reasonable disagreement between clinicians in a courtroom, without other evidence of objective falsehood, does not create a jury question and cannot serve as the basis for an action under the FCA: “While there is no question that clinical judgments must be tethered to a patient’s valid medical records, it is equally clear that the law is designed to give physicians meaningful latitude to make informed judgments without fear that those judgments will be second-guessed after the fact by laymen in a liability proceeding.”[3]Continue Reading 11th Circuit Issues Long-Awaited Opinion in AseraCare Affirming that Mere Differences in Reasonable Clinical Judgement Cannot Be False Under the FCA and Remanding for New Trial and Consideration of Full Record
OIG Issues Advisory Opinion Rejecting the Labeling of Test Tubes at No Cost
On November 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued an unfavorable advisory opinion (No. 16-12) that addresses the permissibility, under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), of a laboratory’s proposal to label test tubes and collect specimen containers at no cost to, and for…
Medicaid Managed Care Final Rule: Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
The Medicaid Managed Care Final Rule aims to align Medicaid regulations with those of other health coverage programs, modernizing the post-Affordable Care Act healthcare landscape. Among other goals, the Final Rule seeks to bolster the transparency, accountability, and integrity of Medicaid managed care by imposing and clarifying requirements meant to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. The rule finalizes a number of changes that address two types of program integrity risks: fraud committed by Medicaid managed care plans and fraud by network providers. It also tightens standards for managed care organization (MCO) submission of certified data, information, and documentation used for program integrity oversight by state and federal agencies.
First, the Final Rule places new responsibilities on both states and managed care plans. State Medicaid programs will now be required to screen and enroll all network providers that order, refer, or furnish services to beneficiaries under the state plan unless a network provider is otherwise enrolled with the state to provide services to fee-for-service (FFS) Medicaid beneficiaries.[1] This requirement, which will take effect in July 2018, may delay the growth of provider networks; to address this concern the Final Rule allows programs to execute network provider agreements pending the outcome of the screening process of up to 120 days. However, upon notification from the state that a provider’s enrollment has been denied or terminated, or the expiration of the 120 day period without enrollment, the plan must terminate the network provider immediately and notify affected enrollees. In addition, the Final Rule requires states to periodically, but no less frequently than once every 3 years, audit patient encounter data and financial reports for accuracy, truthfulness, and completeness. States must also post on their website or otherwise publicize a range of programmatic data, including the results of past audits and information related to entity contracts.[2]
Second, beginning July 2017, managed care plans will also have to submit and certify a range of data—including data related to rate setting, compliance with Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) standards, accessibility of services, and recoveries of overpayments—to their respective states. In order to comply with this requirement, the Final Rules permits the executive leadership of an MCO to delegate the certification to an employee who reports directly to the plan’s CEO or CFO.[3]Continue Reading Medicaid Managed Care Final Rule: Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
New Payment Models and Data: Changes and Themes to Watch
On June 23, Crowell & Moring and Accenture co-hosted the Fostering Innovative Digital Health Strategies Conference in Crowell’s D.C. office. The conference provided a broad analysis of the business and legal issues that must be addressed as health care organizations and technology companies consider innovative strategies to use digital health technologies. The conference covered several topics including trends in the health care economy’s Internet of Things, setting up digital health platforms, legislative activity related to telehealth, and the use of digital health technology to support new payment models.
The fifth session of the conference, “New Payment Models and New Sources of Data for Care Coordination and Quality Improvement” featured John Brennan (Partner, Crowell & Moring), Dr. Elizabeth Raitz-Cowboy (Southeast Medical Director, Aetna Life Insurance Company), Barbara Ryland (Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring), and Soph Sophocles (Associate General Counsel, Biogen).
The discussion addressed changes and themes in the wake of digital health technology and growing use of data. Key takeaways from the session:Continue Reading New Payment Models and Data: Changes and Themes to Watch
CMS Proposes New ACO Performance Measures
On January 28, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would change the methodology used to evaluate and adjust the performance of Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The proposed rule is intended to improve long-term incentives for ACOs and create a path for long-term sustainability.
ACO performance is currently measured using a multi-step process that evaluates an ACO’s effectiveness in lowering expenditures for a group of assigned beneficiaries against a benchmark established based on an ACO’s historical costs. At the beginning of the ACO’s three-year agreement period, CMS sets an average per capita historical benchmark. CMS adjusts the historical benchmark on an annual basis based on projected growth in national per capita expenditures for Medicare Parts A and B services under the fee-for-service (FFS) program.Continue Reading CMS Proposes New ACO Performance Measures
CMS Announces Substantial Increase in ACO Participants for 2016
On January 11, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that 100 new Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) began participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). CMS also announced that 21 new providers and hospitals have signed up to participate in other ACO-focused shared savings programs, including the Pioneer ACO Model,…
South Florida Hospital System Settles Stark Allegations for $69.5 Million
On September 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement of a qui tam action in the amount of $69.5 million with North Broward Hospital District (NBHD). The amount is a small fraction of the $442 million in treble damages to the Medicare and Medicaid programs alleged in the Third Amended Complaint. The settlement resolves allegations that NBHD violated the False Claims Act and the Stark Law by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians. This settlement is an example of a troubling trend in which the DOJ imposes its views of the fair market value (FMV) and commercial reasonableness of employment compensation arrangements upon hospitals and providers. As the DOJ continues to successfully challenge physician compensation by analyzing the monetary impact of such compensation on hospitals’ profits and losses, hospitals are increasingly hamstrung in their ability to rely on FMV opinions to set physician compensation.
NBHD is a special taxing district of the state of Florida that operates hospitals and other health care facilities in the Broward County, Florida region. NBHD was named in a whistleblower suit originally filed in 2010 by Dr. Reilly, an orthopedic surgeon who held staff privileges to practice medicine at Imperial Point Medical Center, a hospital within the NBHD system. The Third Amended Complaint alleged that nine employed cardiologists and orthopedic surgeons were provided compensation packages in excess of FMV, in a system that illegally compensates physicians for the volume or value of their referrals to NBHD. It alleged that from 2004 to present, the overcompensation of the orthopedic surgeons generated net operating losses of over $40 million – an amount offset by referral profits monitored by NBHD in purported “secretive Contribution Margin Reports.”Continue Reading South Florida Hospital System Settles Stark Allegations for $69.5 Million
Health Information Blocking Leads to New Requirements and May Lead to Enforcement Actions
The federal government has spent billions to promote adoption and “meaningful use” of health information technology (HIT). There is growing government interest in ensuring that HIT is used to support patient care, but doing so requires electronic exchange of information. Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and States have taken action to identify and prevent “information blocking”—interference with the exchange or use of electronic health information—by health care providers, hospitals, technology developers, and service providers. And there likely will be more guidance, statutory and regulatory changes, and enforcement by federal agencies and states in the coming year.
Congress Requests Information and Takes Action
On December 21, 2014, Congress raised concerns about health information blocking, claiming that such activities “frustrate Congressional intent” under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, “devalue taxpayer investments,” and make HIT “less valuable and more burdensome” to hospitals and health care providers. Congress urged the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) at HHS to certify only HIT that does not block health information exchange. Congress also requested ONC publish a detailed report on the scope of health information blocking and a strategy to address it, within 90 days.Continue Reading Health Information Blocking Leads to New Requirements and May Lead to Enforcement Actions