Blog Posts: Healthcare
Medicare Strike Force Tries New Tactic
Federal authorities have adopted a new enforcement strategy to put pressure on Medicare fraudsters. The new practice, known as "Medicare payment suspension," played a key role in a recent government strike force involving an alleged $452 million in Medicare fraud.
Small Surgery Practice Fined for HIPAA Violations
Small-practice doctors and solo practitioners beware: The small size of your practice won't save you from being fined for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy and Security Rules. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services recently imposed a $100,000 civil penalty against a five-physician cardiac-surgery practice in Phoenix and Prescott, Arizona for HIPAA violations.
War on Healthcare Fraud HEATs Up
The federal government is waging a new, high-tech war against healthcare fraud, and the message from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to criminals thinking about committing Medicare fraud is “don’t even try.”
Alleged Ringleader of Massive Medicare Fraud Scheme Arrested
A Dallas physician, Dr. Jacques Roy, and five owners of home healthcare agencies were recently arrested and charged with running a massive $375 million Medicare-fraud scheme — the largest fraud amount orchestrated by a single doctor in the history of the federal Medicare Fraud Strike Force and the largest home-healthcare fraud scheme ever.
HIPAA Enforcement Extends to "Business Associate" Companies
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) restricts the way that certain "covered entities" may use and disclose health information, in order to protect healthcare consumers' privacy. Before 2009, only the federal government could bring a civil lawsuit against HIPAA violators, but the passage of the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) extended that power to the states. In addition, under HITECH, "business associates" that contract with covered entities face potential civil liability for HIPAA violations.
First, Do No Harm: Physicians Must Protect Patient Privacy When Networking Online
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is designed to protect patients from unwanted intrusion into the intimate details of their medical conditions. But that same protection may be hindering caregivers from using modern technology to gain the information they need to give the best care possible. While professionals in other fields may easily consult with each other over Internet social networks like Facebook, HIPAA regulations prevent doctors from using such unsecured platforms. Ironically, in the Internet age the medical profession is still heavily reliant on FAX machines.
HIPAA Compliance Audits Scheduled for 2012
For organizations that are subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 2012 is a year of compliance audits. The Department of Health and Human Services Office has announced a 2012 pilot audit program to assess compliance with the Privacy and Security Rules and Breach Notification standards of HIPAA. Under the pilot program, the Office of Civil Rights will conduct 150 audits through December 2012.
Post-HITECH HIPAA Packs a Punch
HHS OCR Imposes $4 Million Penalty for HIPAA Violations The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act's recent amendments to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) included dramatic penalty increases for HIPAA violations, and healthcare organizations are now feeling their sting.
