Contact Us
Categories
- DEI
- Medical Cannabis
- SB 47
- Workplace Violence
- Assisted Living Facilities
- Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights
- Medical Residents
- EMTALA
- FDA
- Reproductive Rights
- Roe v. Wade
- SCOTUS
- Medical Spas
- medical billing
- No Surprises Act
- Mandatory vaccination policies
- Workplace health
- Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act
- Code Enforcement
- Department of Labor ("DOL")
- Employment Law
- FFCRA
- CARES Act
- Nursing Home Reform Act
- COVID-19
- SB 150
- Acute Care Beds
- Clinical Support
- Coronavirus
- Emergency Medical Services
- Emergency Preparedness
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)
- KBML
- medication assisted therapy
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Legislative Developments
- Corporate
- United States Department of Justice ("DOJ")
- Employee Contracts
- Non-Compete Agreement
- Opioid Epidemic
- Sexual Harassment
- Health Resource and Services Administration
- House Bill 333
- Litigation
- Medical Malpractice
- Senate Bill 79
- Locum Tenens
- Physician Prescribing Authority
- Senate Bill 4
- Chronic Pain Management
- HIPAA
- Prescription Drugs
- "Two Midnights Rule"
- 340B Program
- Hospice
- Kentucky minimum wage
- Minimum wage
- Skilled Nursing Facilities (“SNFs”)
- Uncategorized
- Drug Screening
- EHR Systems
- Electronic Health Records (“EHR")
- ICD-10
- KASPER
- Mental Health Care
- Primary Care Physicians ("PCPs")
- Urinalysis
- Accountable Care Organizations (“ACO”)
- Affordable Care Act
- Affordable Insurance Exchanges
- Anti-Kickback Statute
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”)
- Certificate of Need ("CON")
- Compliance
- Data Breach
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI)
- False Claims Act
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (“FQHCs”)
- Fee for Service
- Fraud
- Health Care Fraud
- Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
- Health Professional Shortage Area ("HPSA")
- HIPAA Risk Assessment
- Hospitals
- HPSA
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure
- Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services
- Medicaid
- Medical Staff By-Laws
- Medically Underserved Area ("MUA")
- Medicare
- Office for Civil Rights ("OCR")
- Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (OIG)
- Part D
- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”)
- Pharmacists
- Physician Assistants
- Qui Tam
- Rural Health Centers (“RHCs”)
- Rural Health Clinic
- Stark Laws
- Telehealth
- Alternative Payment Models
- American Telemedicine Association (“ATA”)
- Charitable Hospitals
- Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”)
- Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (“HEAT”)
- HRSA
- Hydrocodone
- Kentucky Board of Nursing
- Kentucky Pharmacists Association
- Limited Services Clinics
- Mid-Level Practitioners
- Qualified Health Care Centers (“FQHC”)
- Telemedicine
- Agreed Order
- APRNs
- Chain and Organization System (“PECOS”)
- Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California
- Drug Enforcement Agency ("DEA")
- Hinchy v. Walgreen Co.
- Jimmo v. Sebelius
- Maintenance Standard
- Overpayments
- United States ex. Rel. Kane v. Continuum Health Partners
- Vitas Innovative Hospice Care
- Webinar
- 2014 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“PFS”)
- 501(c)(3)
- All-Payer Claims Database ("APCD")
- Appeal
- Chiropractic services
- Chronic Care Management
- Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (“CLIA”)
- Compliance Officer
- Compounding
- CPR
- Dispenser
- Drug Quality and Security Act (“DQSA”)
- Emergency Rooms
- Enrollment
- Essential Health Benefits
- HealthCare.gov
- House Bill 3204
- ICD-9
- Kentucky Senate Bill 7
- Kindred v. Cherolis
- Long-term care communities
- Medicare Part D
- Minors
- National Drug Code ("NDC")
- New England Compounding Center ("NECC")
- Ophthalmological services
- Outsourcing facility
- Physician Compare website
- Ping v. Beverly Enterprises
- Power of Attorney ("POA")
- Prescriber
- Re-validation
- State Health Plan
- Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”)
- Texting
- "Plan of Correction"
- Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
- Affinity Health Plan
- Arbitration
- Audit
- Cadillac tax
- Call Coverage
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Community health needs assessment (“CHNA”)
- Condition of Participation ("CoP")
- Daycare centers
- Decertification
- Denied Claims
- Department of Medicaid Services’ (“DMS”)
- Division of Regulated Child Care
- Doe v. Guthrie Clinic
- EHR vendor
- Employer Group Health Plans
- Employer Mandate
- ERISA
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- False Billings
- Federation of State Medical Boards (“FSMB”)
- Food and Drug Administratio
- Form 4720
- Grace Period
- Health Professional Shortage Areas (“HPSA”)
- Health Reform
- Home Health Prospective Payment System
- Home Medical Equipment Providers
- Hospitalists
- House Bill 104
- Individual mandate
- Inpatient Care
- Intermediate Sanctions Agreement
- Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange
- Kentucky Medical Practice Act
- Kynect
- Licensed practical nurses (LPN)
- Licensure Requirements
- List of Excluded Individuals and Entities
- LLC v. Sutter
- Long-Term Care Providers ("LTC")
- Low-utilization payment adjustment ("LUPA")
- Meaningful use incentives
- Medicare Administrative Coordinators
- Medicare Benefit Policy Manual
- Medicare Shared Saving Program (MSSP)
- Mobile medical applications ("apps")
- Model Policy for the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice (“Model Policy”)
- National Institutes of Health
- Network provider agreement
- Nonprofit hospitals
- Nonroutine medical supplies conversion factor (“NRS”)
- Nurse practitioners (NP)
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”)
- Part A
- Part B
- Patient Privacy
- Payors
- Personal Service Entities
- Physician Payments
- Physician Recruitment
- Physician shortages
- Provider Self Disclosure Protocol
- Qualified Health Plan ("QHP")
- Quality reporting
- Registered nurses (RN)
- Residency Programs
- Self-Disclosure Protocol
- Social Media
- Spousal coverage
- Statement of Deficiency ("SOD")
- Trade Association Group Coverage
- Upcoding
- UPS
- “Superuser”
- Autism/ASD
- Business Associate Agreements
- Business Associates
- Center for Disease Control
- Compliance Programs
- Critical Access Hospitals (“CAHs”)
- Essential Health Benefits (“EHBs”)
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ("GINA")
- Group Purchasing Organizations ("GPO")
- Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
- Kentucky House Bill 159
- Kentucky House Bill 217
- Kentucky Primary Care Centers (“PCCs”)
- Managed Care Organizations (“MCOs”)
- Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2012
- Patient Autonomy
- Personal Health Information
- Recovery Audit Contractors (“RAC”)
- Senate Bill 39
- Senate Finance Committee Report
- Small Business Health Options Program (“SHOP”)
- State Medicaid Expansion
- Sunshine Act
- Abuse and Waste
- Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan programs (“CO-OPS”)
- Free Conference Committee Report
- Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program
- House Bill 1
- House Bill 4
- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
- Kentucky Health Care Co-Op
- Kentucky Health Cooperative (“KYHC”)
- Kentucky “Pill Mill Bill”
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”)
- Pain Management Facilities
- Employee Agreement
- Health Care Law
- Health Insurance
- Healthcare Regulation
McBrayer Blogs

Showing 53 posts by Lisa English Hinkle.
The Heat Turns Up: The 60-Day Rule Gets a Facelift but Changes Create Complications for Providers
With the OIG’s May 30, 2025, announcement that they are seeking $454.4 million in funding to fight healthcare fraud, healthcare providers can expect increased governmental scrutiny despite Trump’s budget cutbacks and staff layoffs. The OIG justifies its budget request by pointing out that for every $1 invested, there is an expected return of $11 in government recoveries and receivables, which fuels the Trump administration’s fight on fraud, waste, and abuse in health care. What this means for health care providers is intensified scrutiny and likely use of AI as a tool to evaluate big data to identify potential false claims, fraud, outliers, etc. Considering the OIG’s 90-page new General Compliance Guidance, healthcare providers’ self-policing strategies and internal audits are more important than ever as the heat turns up on alleged fraud and false claims. More >
The Future of DEI in Healthcare: Navigating Compliance and Risk Under New Federal Policies
The landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in healthcare is undergoing a seismic shift following recent executive orders (EO) issued by President Donald J. Trump. The order, titled "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," aims to eliminate DEI initiatives within federal government agencies and private companies contracting with the government. This policy shift presents significant legal and operational challenges for healthcare providers, particularly those relying on federal funding. More >
Medical Cannabis in Kentucky: What Practitioners Need to Know
As of January 1, 2025, medical cannabis is legal in Kentucky. Physicians and nurse practitioners who want to create access for their patients to this important treatment must become authorized to certify patients for medical cannabis and should be extremely careful to comply with confusing and complex regulatory requirements. More >
DEA Proposes New Tele-Prescribing Rules for End of COVID-19 State of Emergency
At the end of January, the Biden Administration announced that May 11, 2023, would mark the end of the federal public health emergency (PHE) declarations that have been in place for the last three years. For healthcare providers, this means change is on the horizon, especially where telemedicine is concerned. In response to the impending end of emergency telehealth provisions, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has proposed a permanent rule regarding the prescription of controlled medications via telemedicine in order to extend COVID-era accommodations. The public will be able to comment for 30 days on the proposed rules. A summary of the rules can be found here: Proposed Telemedicine Rules Summary. More >
OIG, in a Departure, Approves Hospital Provision of Nurse Practitioner Services
Traditionally, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) would take a hard stance on any arrangements that might involve some form of remuneration from a hospital to a referring physician, but the winds of change may be blowing. In Advisory Opinion 22-20, published in December of 2022, the OIG has given a green light, albeit in a limited context, to an arrangement in which a hospital may have its employee nurse practitioners perform some services traditionally performed by the patients’ primary care physicians. This is a small step in the direction of a more flexible OIG stance on the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”), but it doesn’t completely sidestep risks. More >
OIG and CMS Audits Present New Round of Compliance Concerns for Healthcare Providers
Since the beginning of the Public Health Emergency, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) data reflect over 44 million COVID-19 cases, 3 million COVID-19 related hospitalizations, and 720,000 COVID-19 deaths. COVID-19 has placed enormous stress on our healthcare system. Federal and state responses to COVID-19 have woven a complex and complicated safety net by easing regulatory requirements through waivers and funneling billions of dollars to providers among many other actions. Just as the pandemic may finally be easing, federal focus on use of COVID-19 resources promises to increase healthcare providers’ stress. More >
Not All Surprises Are Presents: Preventing Surprise Medical Bills under the No Surprises Act
To address surprise medical costs for consumers, Congress recently passed an extremely complicated bill: No Surprises Act (“The Act”). No Surprises Act aims to prevent surprise medical bills or balance billing in the American health care system. Specifically, The Act prevents surprise medical bills when patients receive emergency care or are treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center. More >
Policy Reversal Means Return of Per Day Fines for Nursing Homes
On July 19, 2021, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) rescinded a guidance issued in 2017 that significantly limited the discretion of CMS Locations to impose substantial fines for noncompliance. (For reference, the 2017 Guidance can be found here. The accompanying CMP Analytic Tool can be found here.) More >
Pandemic Pivot to Telemedicine Creates New Compliance Issues for Healthcare Providers
The shift to telemedicine in the United States predates the pandemic, but COVID-19 has accelerated its widespread use. In April of 2019, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) finalized rules to increase telehealth benefits for Medicare Advantage enrollees, effectively incentivizing health systems with high numbers of private Medicare plan recipients to invest in telehealth services. More >
Healthcare Providers Take Notice: AMA Updates E/M Codes for 2021
In addition to staying up to date on the constantly changing landscape of COVID-19 requirements, healthcare providers must also stay well-informed of industry changes unrelated to the pandemic. On January 1, 2021, changes in Evaluation and Management (‘E/M’) codes for physicians took effect. These changes, proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (‘CMS’), primarily impact 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (‘MPFS’) reimbursements. More >