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Showing 57 posts in Medicaid.

RHCs and FQHCs – It’s time to take a second look at Alternate Payment Methodology

September 29, 2015
Posted In Federally Qualified Health Centers (“FQHCs”), Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services, Medicaid, Rural Health Centers (“RHCs”)

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 >

A Shot in the Arm of Preventive Health Services

By Anne-Tyler Morgan on September 22, 2015
Posted In Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services, Medicaid

The ripple effects of recent changes to the health care industry are still being measured, but Kentucky is already touting what it views as a positive impact of the Commonwealth’s decision to accept the Medicaid expansion under the law. More >

Providers Wary after First Ruling on 60-Day Rule

By Christopher J. Shaughnessy on August 11, 2015
Posted In Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), False Claims Act, Medicaid

The False Claims Act (“FCA”) is already a minefield for healthcare providers, especially when coupled with the Stark Law. Treble damages and fines of up to $11,000 per violation add up quickly under the FCA. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York just made further FCA “reverse false claims” nightmares that much more of a reality in the case of Kane v. Healthfirst. That case is illustrative of how the government will interpret and enforce the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) “60-day rule” for retention of overpayments, and the result should make all healthcare providers take notice. More >

CMS Proposes Sweeping Changes for Nursing Home Oversight

July 28, 2015
Posted In Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Medicaid, Medicare

On July 16, 2015, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a Proposed Rule with new standards that will have a sweeping effect on the long-term care industry. This new Rule is the first comprehensive review and update to Medicare and Medicaid nursing home standards since 1991. Since the last update, the number of Medicare beneficiaries, excluding Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, residing in nursing homes has tripled to 1.8 million residents and the Medicaid Program has become the primary payer of long term care (64% of residents are on Medicaid).[1] More >

Changes and Challenges for Mental and Behavioral Health Providers

By Lisa English Hinkle on July 23, 2015
Posted In Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services, Medicaid, Mental Health Care

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

By Lisa English Hinkle on July 14, 2015
Posted In KASPER, Medicaid, Medicare

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

By Anne-Tyler Morgan on June 18, 2015
Posted In False Claims Act, Medicaid, Medicare, Qui Tam

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

By Anne-Tyler Morgan on June 16, 2015
Posted In False Claims Act, Medicaid, Medicare, Qui Tam

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 >

What changes are in store with the new CMS Proposed Rule for Medicaid managed care?

June 11, 2015
Posted In Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), Medicaid, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”)

On June 1, 2015 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a proposed rule, revising the provisions of the Medicaid managed care (“MMC”) program for the first time in over twelve years. [1] The effects of these new regulations, if adopted, will be far-reaching, because the vast majority of Medicaid beneficiaries, especially in Kentucky, receive services through managed care plans. Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) has led to growth in the number of people eligible for Medicaid managed care. The 201-page proposed regulation attempts to modernize Medicaid managed care and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (“CHIP”) so that they align with rules for other payers, including Medicare Advantage (“MA”) and qualified health plans (“QHPs”). More >

Time to Exclude the IMD Exclusion

May 26, 2015
Posted In Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), Medicaid

Some rules are borne out of the best of intentions, and the Institutions for Mental Disease Exclusion (“IMD exclusion”) bears the hallmarks of such a beginning. The IMD exclusion bars federal funding for care of patients between the ages of 21 and 65 who receive inpatient treatment in an IMD, a hospital, nursing facility or other institution with more than 16 beds that primarily treats those with mental illness. This provision came into being in 1965, primarily as a way to prevent dubious institutions from stocking up on mentally ill patients for the purposes of collecting federal funds en masse, but also to put the onus on states, rather than the federal government, to care for the mentally ill. More >

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