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McBrayer Blogs
Showing 21 posts in Medicaid.
When Safety Nets Fail Together: Medicaid Cuts, ACA Subsidies, and EMTALA
America’s healthcare system is often described as a patchwork: a mix of public programs, private insurance, and stopgap laws meant to catch people before they fall through the cracks. But what happens when several of those safety nets are weakened or removed all at once? More >
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 >
"Incident to" Billing - Easy to Get Wrong
Billing for medical services is never easy. Despite attempts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to simplify the rule regarding “incident to” billing for Medicare services, it remains misunderstood by a large swath of providers. This proves problematic, as incorrect billing practices may lead to overpayments and False Claims Act violations. Billing for “incident to” services is an important mechanism to reflect the actual value of mid-level services provided under the specific plan of a physician. When properly followed, the “incident to” rules allow physicians to bill for services provided by non-physician practitioners as if they were performed by the physician at physician reimbursement rates. Additionally, the non-physician provider can be an employee, an independent contractor or even a leased employee, provided that they are supervised by a physician and the requirements are met. Because of the confusing nature of allowing a physician to bill for services he or she did not directly provide to the patient, serious landmines exist that can create problems if the rules are not scrupulously followed and documented. More >
Watch out MCOs--What to do with Medicaid Managed Care Organizations’ Payment Denials. Medicaid’s Findings of Alleged Overpayments—Relief?
With reported revenues in the billions of dollars and net profits not far behind, insurance companies providing a Medicaid Managed Care product are making huge profits on Kentucky’s Medicaid business. Across the country, lawsuits are being filed that go so far as to allege that these Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (“MCOs”) have been unjustly enriched and have made fraudulent misrepresentations, as well as negligent misrepresentations to providers and their staff. WellCare, in particular, is the subject of a new action in Florida based, in part, on its Kentucky Medicaid business. While these lawsuits create a very important way to address reimbursement issues, Kentucky providers have a new avenue to pursue claims against MCOs. In April of 2016, the Kentucky legislature directed that health care providers have a process by which a Medicaid MCO’s final decision denying a healthcare service or claim could be reviewed and appealed. Under the statute, providers could receive an independent, third-party review of denied Medicaid managed-care claims, as well as an administrative process for review. Prior to the new process in Senate Bill 20, the only avenue for appeal was to the MCO itself or through the Department of Insurance’s policy of reviewing claims regarding failure to make prompt payment, which was a process established by policy, not regulation. Finally, in December 2016, the final regulations implementing the statute and providing the process for appeal were promulgated by Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services (“DMS”), making available long-awaited relief for health care providers facing denied claims from Medicaid MCOs. More >
Primary Care Providers – Are you feeling the pinch?
It was nice while it lasted – due to a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), services furnished by certain primary care providers (“PCPs”) were subject to an enhanced payment rate for Calendar Years 2013 and 2014. These PCPs had to have (a) been Board certified in the specialty designation of family medicine, general internal medicine or pediatric medicine or have a subspecialty designation recognized by specific boards or associations, or (b) furnished more than 60% of claims in specific evaluation and management or vaccine administration services under certain codes to have been eligible for these enhanced payments.[1] The payments were raised to the level of the Medicare Part B fee schedule rate (unless the actual billed charge for the service was lower), and providers had until April 1, 2013 to self-attest to being eligible.[2] The increase applied to both fee-for-service and managed care Medicaid plans. More >
RHCs and FQHCs – It’s time to take a second look at Alternate Payment Methodology
In July of 2014, Kentucky Medicaid established an Alternate Payment Methodology (“APM”) for all Federally-Qualified Health Centers (“FQHCs”) and Rural Health Clinics (“RHCs”) as an alternative to the all-inclusive encounter rate per patient under the standard prospective payment system (“PPS”) of 42 U.S.C. 1369a(aa). The APM allows for qualified centers to be reimbursed at a rate of 125% of the 2014 Medicare Upper Payment Limit for RHCs in place of the PPS system ($99.75 per covered visit). There are more advantages to APM than meet the eye, however, and qualified centers currently using PPS method should at the very least reevaluate APM, as proposed changes will make APM even more attractive and potentially risk-free. More >
Changes and Challenges for Mental and Behavioral Health Providers
As Kentucky’s Senate Bill 192 highlights, coverage and treatment of substance abuse problems is dramatically changing as the current penal model is slowly being replaced with a treatment model. Even terminology for what has been called "drug addiction" is now referred to as a "substance disorder" problem. Behavioral health has become the new catchall name for both mental health and substance disorders. As substance disorders become medical problems rather than drug abuse problems, the Federal Mental Health Parity Act and the Affordable Care Act now mandate that substance disorders and mental health problems, which often go hand in hand, must be covered by health insurance just as medical problems are covered. As of January 1, 2015, these illnesses must also covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Paving the road for coverage, however, has not been easy as a wealth of new federal and state government regulations are creating a complicated framework with a host of changes for behavioral health providers. While Kentucky struggles to provide and pay for services for the 150,000+ new Medicaid beneficiaries, these new laws and regulations significantly affect not just behavioral health providers, but also employers as the struggle to treat individuals who suffer from these maladies is addressed. More >
Think Twice about DEA Voluntary Surrender
It can be an intimidating experience to be sure... A DEA agent or Diversion Investigator, on an unscheduled visit to your office, confronts you with a KASPER, a KBML complaint or some other state regulatory action and alleges violations of the Controlled Substances Act. The DEA Agent then asks you to sign DEA Form 104. This form, which is titled “Voluntary Surrender of Controlled Substances Privileges,” is placed in front of you while the agent explains why you should sign it immediately, rather than face potential action to revoke your DEA and other adverse consequences. The DEA Agent tells you that you are already in deep, deep trouble (of a vague and unspecified nature), and that the simple act of signing this form can make your troubles go away and prevent federal action. Also, he tells you that all you have to do to get the number back is to reapply! Hold on...this is not the full story! This scenario is becoming a harsh reality and common situation for physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and PAs. More >
The False Claims Act - the Basics Every Provider Should Know, Part Two
On Tuesday, we discussed the history and basic elements of a violation of the False Claims Act. Today’s post will explore the penalties and enforcement of the Act. More >
The False Claims Act – the Basics Every Provider Should Know, Part One
The federal False Claims Act (“FCA”)[1] casts an incredibly long shadow, covering every transaction between the federal government and a private party seeking payment from it. Enacted at the height of the Civil War in 1863, the law was designed to keep military suppliers honest in their dealings with a government already strapped from fighting a war. Since then, the FCA has served as an almost nuclear deterrent to those who would attempt to defraud the government when requesting payment for services. In 2014, the Department of Justice managed to recover $5.69 billion under the law. False claims in federal healthcare programs accounted for $2.3 billion of that figure, which makes the FCA, as well as its interaction with other laws such as the Affordable Care Act, fraught with difficulty for unwary healthcare providers. More >
