On Friday, February 12, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final overpayment reporting and refunding rule for Medicare Parts A and B overpayments (Final Rule). This Final Rule adopts federal regulations to implement Section 6402(a) of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted in March 2010 that requires the identification, reporting and refunding of certain overpayments from the Medicare and Medicaid programs (the “Overpayment Law”). CMS had previously issued a proposed rule in February 2012 containing regulations to implement the Overpayment Law, which raised several questions and compliance challenges by physicians and other health care providers. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: February 2016
HHS To Revise Substance Abuse Confidentiality Rules
On Friday, February 5, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced its intention to revise the forty year old federal confidentiality standards that apply to substance use (f/k/a “substance abuse”) medical information. Originally published in 1975, these rules are found in, and often referred to simply as “42 CFR Part 2.” In announcing the revisions, HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said that the “proposal will help patients with substance use disorders fully participate and benefit from a health care delivery system that’s better, smarter and healthier, while protecting their privacy.”
The revisions will be published later this week, and we’ll be summarizing them for our clients and friends.
Written by: Greg Frost
bswhealthlaw.com 