Federal Health IT Officials Outline Five-Year Plan

A doctor holding a tablet and looking at his phone.

The Department of Health and Human Services, led by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), recently released its 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for public comment. The 28-page plan outlines goals and objectives to ensure that patients have access to their electronic health information (EHR) that allows them to,…

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OIG Issues Advisory Opinion on Hospital Training Facility

A fire truck parked on the side of the road.

On January 13, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) posted an advisory opinion in which it approved a hospital’s request to provide discounted training to a fire department’s personnel at the hospital’s facility. The hospital asked the government watchdog whether such an arrangement would constitute grounds for the imposition of sanctions under the exclusion authority…

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Government cracks down on pharmacies, home health agencies, medical directors for medically unnecessary services

A red heart with the word fraud written on it.

It’s no secret that in recent years the number of healthcare fraud investigations and prosecutions in the U.S. has rocketed. Clearly, the amount of taxpayer dollars being lost to fraud and abuse, coupled with the potential for big payoffs when fraud is detected, is a great motivator. Every year that the government racks up successful…

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Florida ALFs latest target of Medicaid fraud investigators

A person sitting on the word fraud

Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs), and the patient placement agencies with which they work, have become the latest target of Florida’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigators. Recently, these agencies have been conducting interviews with ALF owners, managers and marketing personnel at facilities where they suspect possible kickbacks in violations of the Florida Patient Brokering Statute…

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CMS cracking down on fraudsters

A pile of money with the words medicare fraud.

Federal agencies are stepping up their efforts to go after providers who engage in healthcare fraud and abuse. On Dec. 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services issued new rules designed to crack down on what the agency refers to as “bad actors,†as part of an effort to increase oversight of Medicare providers,…

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