OIG Gives Blessing to Gift Card Arrangement

A gift card and some words that say " opinions ".

Last month, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published an advisory opinion in which it declined to impose sanctions for an arrangement under which the requestor provides gift cards to Medicare Advantage enrollees who complete an online learning program related to potential risks, benefits, and expectations relating to surgeries. The requestor stated that the program…

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OIG Gives Okay to Cost-Sharing Subsidy in Clinical Trial

A heart with electrical signals coming out of it.

A company that makes a medical device that uses a patient’s cells to treat ischemic systolic heart failure – a life-threatening cardiac condition – would not face sanctions if it paid Medicare participants’ cost-sharing obligations they would otherwise owe for reimbursable items and services provided during the 2-year study. That was the finding of a…

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OIG: Complimentary In-Home Care Permitted, Despite Potential Anti-Kickback Violation

A picture of an oig advisory opinion.

A recent advisory opinion issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General has given a medical center the go-ahead to provide free in-home care to reduce re-admissions, despite a prohibition against giving patients handouts that might influence care decisions. The OIG advisory opinion is in response to a…

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Feds to increase exclusion and civil monetary penalty enforcement cases

A stethoscope is sitting on top of a stack of money.

When it comes to exclusion and civil monetary penalty cases, the federal government is preparing to take an even harder line than in the past. During the recent Health Care Compliance Association’s Healthcare Enforcement Compliance Institute, Gregory Demske, chief counsel at the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, told an audience his agency…

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