Archive for February 2019
HIPAA Enforcement tops $28M in 2018
If it seems as if HIPAA violations were in the news more often than ever last year, that may be because 2018 saw an all-time record year in HIPAA enforcement activity. There were 10 cases settled and one judgement secured by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human…
Read MoreGroundbreaking Rules for Electronic Health Records Proposed
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing new rules that could pave the way for increased exchange of healthcare data by 2020. The rules, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), would allow patients to have access…
Read MoreHHS Proposes Changes to Drug Rebate Safe Harbors
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the safe harbor regulation for certain drug rebates that manufacturers pay to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) Medicare Part D, and Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). Published in the Federal Register on February 6, the proposal is designed to…
Read MoreLab to Pay $63.5M to Settle Kickback Allegations
Inform Diagnostics, an Irving, Texas-based pathology laboratory company, has agreed to pay $63.5 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians. The settlement stems from allegations that the company violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law by providing referring physicians with subsidies…
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