By Christopher Flynn on Posted in Fraud, Waste & AbuseThe Health Care Group’s newest partners, William S.W. Chang and Laura M. Kidd Cordova, along with Counsel Stephanie D. Willis, have authored an Alert about the 21st Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC) annual report released last Friday. The HCFAC report is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and… Continue Reading
By Crowell & Moring on Posted in Health IT,HIPAA & PrivacyThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a proposed rule to modernize the federal substance abuse confidentiality rules set forth in 42 C.F.R. Part 2. The proposed updates seek to address longstanding complaints from providers and Health Information Exchanges (“HIE”) that the highly stringent confidentiality rules often stymie patient care by limiting… Continue Reading
By Stephanie Willis on Posted in Fraud, Waste & AbuseEvery year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report the results of their fraud prevention and recovery efforts to Congress. As recounted in the recently released Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC) report, the overall amount recovered in FY 2014… Continue Reading
By Crowell & Moring on Posted in Employee Benefits,ERISA,Health Care Reform & ACA,HIPAA & Privacy,Mental Health ParityOn February 13, the Departments of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Labor (“DOL”) and Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) issued Part XXIII of their FAQs about Affordable Care Act implementation. This latest FAQ provides additional guidance regarding “excepted benefits,” i.e., benefits that are exempt from the portability rules under HIPAA as well as various requirements under… Continue Reading
By Crowell & Moring on Posted in Health Care Reform & ACAInsurers in U.S. Territories will soon be exempt from popular market-reform and non-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In a July 16 letter, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) clarified that the ACA provisions on guaranteed availability, community rating, single risk pool, medical loss ratio, and essential health benefits only apply… Continue Reading
