Health Law Scan

In CMS’s continuing effort to take “a strategic approach to protecting taxpayer dollars and reducing regulation to put patients over paperwork,” Administrator Seema Verma recently highlighted changes to the Recovery Audit Program that are intended to make the program more provider friendly. Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) review payments made to healthcare providers under Medicare Fee-for-Service plans. RACs have been controversial among providers due to concerns about their accuracy.

In an opinion of significant importance to the administration of the Medicare program, the US Supreme Court issued a 7–1 decision requiring the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to follow notice and comment rulemaking when adopting a “statement of policy” that establishes or changes a “substantive legal standard.”

Healthcare partners Al Shay and Howard Young and associate Jake Harper recently contributed to the Health Care Compliance Legal Issues Manual, a publication by the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA).

CMS finalized a rule last month that will significantly expand access to telehealth services for patients in Medicare Advantage plans. Implementing provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BiBA), the new rule will allow patients to (finally) receive healthcare services from the comfort of their homes.