Medicare Advantage (“MA”) plans may want to think twice before modifying their provider networks.  In an August 27, 2015 letter, CMS announced that MA plan enrollees may elect to change plans if their current plan makes a significant provider network change with substantial beneficiary impact.

The letter provides an overview of how CMS will implement

Citing concerns about transparency and timing, on August 13, 2015, CMS issued a memorandum to clarify guidance to Medicare Part D sponsors regarding the any willing pharmacy requirement.

Medicare Part D sponsors are required to contract with any pharmacy that meets the Part D sponsor’s standard terms and conditions.  CMS requires that the standard terms

On July 8, 2015, CMS issued proposed regulations that would modify the “two-midnight rule” that governs payments by Medicare Part A for short inpatient hospital stays.  The proposed changes are contained in the CY 2016 proposed regulations for the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS).  Stakeholders may submit comments on the proposal by August 31, 2015.

Inpatient vs. Outpatient Status

The distinction between inpatient and outpatient classification is important under Medicare.  Medicare reimbursement rates for identical services differ dramatically if the care is provided in an inpatient or outpatient setting.[1]

The admission status also has important implications for the patient.  Under Medicare Part A, a beneficiary admitted as an inpatient is required to pay a one-time deductible for the first sixty days in the hospital.[2]  For outpatient services under Medicare Part B, the beneficiary must make a co-payment for every individual service rendered by the provider.[3]

Background on the Two-Midnight Rule

In 2013, CMS created the “two-midnight rule” to determine whether Medicare Part A payment for inpatient stay is appropriate.  The “two-midnight rule” is based on the physician’s expectation of the patient’s length-of-stay at the time of admission.  It included two medical review policies:

  • Under the “two-midnight benchmark,” CMS considered an inpatient admission to be appropriate when the admitting physician had a reasonable and supportable expectation that a patient would need to receive care at the hospital for a period spanning two-midnights; and
  • Under the “two-midnight presumption,” auditors were directed not to select claims for review if the inpatient stay spanned two-midnights from the time of admission, absent evidence of gaming or abuse.

Continue Reading CMS Proposes To Modify “Two-Midnight Benchmark” To Broaden Exceptions for Part A Payments for Short Inpatient Stays

In a March 10, 2014 letter to Congress, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner indicated that—based on concerns from Congress and the public—CMS shall not finalize the Proposed Rules’ proposals that would have:

  • Removed the protected class definition for immunosuppressant drugs used in transplant patients, antidepressants, and antipsychotic medicines used to treat schizophrenia and certain related disorders

On October 2, 2013, the federal district court in Columbia, South Carolina imposed a landmark $237 million judgment in a much-discussed False Claims Act case which was predicated on violations of the Physician Self-Referral (Stark) Law, U.S. ex rel. Drakeford v. Tuomey Healthcare System, Inc.1 The case was originally filed as a qui tam case in 2005 by a physician, Michael Drakeford. The federal government intervened in the case in 2007. 

The relator Drakeford and the government alleged that Tuomey Healthcare System (Tuomey) had established employment relationships with certain referring physicians which did not meet a Stark Law “exception,” thus tainting all Medicare referrals and claims submitted by Tuomey for services resulting from these physicians’ referrals. The physicians, employed through Tuomey’s affiliated medical practice groups, were part-time employees and their compensation covered only the physicians’ outpatient surgery services. The physicians’ salaries were adjusted according to collections received by the hospital for the services personally performed by the physicians. The physicians also received productivity and quality bonuses based on a percentage of these collections.  Continue Reading Landmark False Claims Act Judgment: What Hospitals and Healthcare Providers Should Know

On May 20, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final regulations on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs (PDP). The final MLR rule is largely identical to the proposed rule and generally tracks the requirements of the