Tagged: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

CMS Advisory Opinion Approves Parent and Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Qualifying as “Single Legal Entity” under the Stark “Group Practice” Definition

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released Advisory Opinion No. CMS-AO-2021-01 in June 2021, which gave the requestor the green light to provide designated health services (“DHS”) through wholly-owned subsidiaries while the parent and subsidiaries could qualify as a “single legal entity” under the “group practice” definition of the federal physician self-referral law...

Living in a Virtual World: The Post-Pandemic Future of Telehealth

The COVID-19 pandemic required health care providers of all sizes to make drastic changes to the mode of patient care delivery. Telehealth quickly emerged as a safe alternative to in-person patient visits, and many providers quickly transitioned to virtual services. The pandemic-initiated expansion of telehealth was rapid and significant, but the pandemic likely accelerated existing...

Nursing Facilities and CMPs: The Latest Fight

On January 18, 2021, a lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) challenging a CMS policy change dating back to 2017.  The plaintiffs, the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, are...

2020 CPI-U and DHS Code List Updates Posted on CMS Website

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently posted two annual updates related to the physician self-referral law (“Stark Law” or “Stark”) on its Stark website: (1) CPI-U updates related to the nonmonetary compensation exception and medical staff incidental benefits exception; and (2) CPT/HCPCS codes used to identify certain categories of Stark designated health...

At Long Last, CMS Issues Proposed Guidance on Hospital Co-Locations

For years, CMS has informally applied restrictions for hospitals which share space, equipment, staff or services in the same physical location (i.e., “co-locate”) with other hospitals or health care entities.  Although these sub-regulatory interpretations by CMS were not formal guidance, the penalties were so severe that many hospitals unwound the co-location or shared services arrangements...

CMS’s New “Primary Cares Initiative” Places Primary Care at the Center of the Shift to Value-Based Care

On April 22, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two sweeping new payment innovation models under the Primary Cares Initiatives. The models will seek to incentivize primary care and other providers to take on greater responsibility and risk for the lives of covered beneficiaries. Both new models are scheduled to be...

CMS Continues Expansion of Supplemental Benefits in Medicare Advantage Plans

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced increased flexibility for Medicare Advantage health insurance plans to offer supplemental benefits (those benefits not covered under Medicare Parts A or B). Beginning in 2020, Medicare Advantage plans may offer chronically ill enrollees supplemental benefits that are not necessarily health-related but are reasonably expected...

Getting Ready for Open Payments

Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released additional tips regarding submitting Open Payments data.[1] A quick refresher: Submitting data through CMS’s application, Open Payments, is the means to fulfill the Sunshine Act, a federal regulatory requirement that applicable manufacturers, group purchasing organizations (“GPOs”), and health care providers disclose: a) certain transfers of...

CMS Finalizes Site-Neutral Payments for Hospital Outpatient Clinics; Legal Battle with Hospitals Looms

On Friday, November 2, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued its calendar year 2019 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System final rule. Despite significant resistance and concerns from hospitals, CMS finalized its proposed site-neutral payment policy for clinic visit services provided at off-campus provider-based...