Earlier this week, the Wisconsin Department of Administration announced the creation of the Wisconsin Rental Assistance Program. The state has allocated $25 Million to a program to assist residential renters with rent payments and security deposit obligations from the grant the state received under the CARES Act funds issued to all states. My partner, Joe Mella, posted a great article on this that you can access Wisconsin Rental Assistance
The Wisconsin DHS has issued a Badger Bounce Back Plan. The plan identifies steps and criteria to guide the reopening of health care and other services in the state.
The Badger Bounce Back Plan identifies 6 areas where COVID-19 will be “boxed in” under the plan. These areas include
(i) symptoms; showing a downward trajectory in illnesses of a 14-day period;
(ii) cases, fewer and fewer positive tests over a 14-day period;
(iii) health care system; hospitals can treat patients without “crisis care” and there is robust testing;
(iv) testing; every Wisconsin resident with systems is able to get lab tests with results reported to public health within 48 hours of collection;
(v) contact tracing; every individual who tests positive is interviewed within 24 hours and their contacts are interviewed within 48 hours; and
(vi) protective equipment; all health care and public safety entities must have adequate protective equipment.
To ensure that local hospitals and health systems have the capacity to handle COVID-19 patients through temporary expansion sites (also known as the CMS Hospital Without Walls initiative);
To expand at-home and community-based testing to minimize transmission of COVID-19;
To expand the healthcare workforce by removing barriers for physicians, nurses, and other clinicians to be readily hired from the local community or other states;
To increase access to telehealth for Medicare patients so they can get care from their physicians and other clinicians while staying safely at home; and
put patients over paperwork by giving providers, healthcare facilities, Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, and states temporary relief from many reporting and audit requirements so they can focus on patient care.
The Joint Commission, one of the nation’s top accreditation organizations for health care providers, has published a variety of useful resources for health care organizations. The resources provide some excellent coverage and are useful for all providers who are facing the Coronavirus pandemic. The Joint Commission says that its goal in creating the resource page is to support health care professionals and organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the biggest highlight of general application is the Joint Commissions “Real Voices. Real Stories.” The Real Voices includes stories from a variety of front-line health care workers.
You can download a PDF file of “Real Voices. Real Stories” at the following link: Real Voices PDF Download
The Joint Commission website includes a variety of other resources. The Joint Commission does not have the largest list of resources. Instead, the Joint Commission’s goal is to attempt to cut through the deluge of information on the COVID-19 virus and provide “only the information that best meets the needs of health care workers and leaders.”
An $18 million settlement was agreed by a hospital chain after allegations that claims were submitted to Medicare for patients who were admitted to an inpatient facility when they allegedly could have been treated on a less costly outpatient basis. The government alleged that the hospital system billed Medicare for short-stay, inpatient procedures that should have been billed on a less costly outpatient basis. The government also accused the hospital system of inflating reports to Medicare regarding the number of hours of outpatient observation care that was provided.
This is a fairly typical case where the allegation involved billing for services that were of a higher level than required by the patient. In effect, the excess services are deemed to be medically unnecessary. In this case, the services involved inpatient admissions that the government alleged could have been taken care of in a less costly outpatient setting.
A former employee was the whistleblower in the case and walks away with over $3.25 million from the settlement.
The Joint Commission, one of the nation’s top accreditation organizations for health care providers, has published a variety of useful resources for health care organizations. The resources provide some excellent coverage and are useful for all providers who are facing the Coronavirus pandemic. The Joint Commission says that its goal in creating the resource page is to support health care professionals and organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the biggest highlight of general application is the Joint Commissions “Real Voices. Real Stories.” The Real Voices includes stories from a variety of front-line health care workers.
You can download a PDF file of “Real Voices. Real Stories” at the following link: Real Voices PDF Download
The Joint Commission website includes a variety of other resources. The Joint Commission does not have the largest list of resources. Instead, the Joint Commission’s goal is to attempt to cut through the deluge of information on the COVID-19 virus and provide “only the information that best meets the needs of health care workers and leaders.”
Safeguarding Patient Health Information in an Emergency Situation
Even in an emergency situation such as that presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, covered entities must continue to meet their obligations under federal and state laws protecting confidentiality of patient health care information, to implement reasonable safeguards to protect patient information against intentional or unintentional impermissible uses and disclosures. They must continue to comply with the administrative, physical, and technical safeguards of the security rule and privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Covered Entities must continue to comply with HIPAA and other confidentiality laws during the COVID-19 pandemic. Certain emergency provisions may apply in applicable state and federal regulations.
The obligation to conduct periodic HIPAA security assessments continues, even during the existence of an emergency or natural disaster. The obligation to meet the requirements of state laws protecting special status health information such as mental health records and drug and alcohol rehabilitation records, also continues through a pandemic.
Each of the bodies of regulations that apply to patient health information contain certain specific provisions that can apply during a pandemic. For example, HIPAA permits disclosures to public health authorities and others
Radiation Therapy Referral Kickback Arrangements with Investors.
A national operator of radiation therapy centers, has agreed to settle a False Claims Act action alleging that it submitted claims violated the Anti‑Kickback Statute by paying of $11.5 million and entering into a 5 year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General. The arrangement involved payments to investors who were allegedly targeted because of their referral potential to the therapy centers. The challenged arrangement involved a series of leasing companies that accepted investments from referring physicians. The investment interests resulted in the payment of investment returns that the government considered to be remuneration for referrals in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The whistleblower who originally raised the issue will receive up to $1.725 million.
This case involves a garden variety claim of a kickback by investment interest. The typical investment case involves targeting potential investors who are in a professional position to make referrals to the company in which they are asked to invest. The referral source has a financial incentive to increase referrals. This might be an excellent financial investment scenario, but the problem is that the investment return might well be an illegal kickback; which is potentially a federal felony.
The Joint Commission, one of the nation’s top accreditation organizations for health care providers, has published a variety of useful resources for health care organizations. The resources provide some excellent coverage and are useful for all providers who are facing the Coronavirus pandemic. The Joint Commission says that its goal in creating the resource page is to support health care professionals and organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the biggest highlight of general application is the Joint Commissions “
