Recent News

FHLF Monthly

December 2011

Jeffrey L. Cohen on BlogTalkRadio

Interview with Jeff Cohen

What are ACOs and Why Should You Care?

Articles from our Team

Physician Owned Distributorships (PODs)
Make Waves

Physician owned distributorships (PODs) have been the source of considerable controversy for years, but now they've caught the attention of Congress!

The 2012 OIG Work Plan – The Government is Still at Work During the Holidays

On November 10, 2011, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Humans Services (the "OIG") issued their 2012 Work Plan. The annual Work Plan is designed to give Medicare providers and supplier notice and information on areas of potential abuse that the OIG to address with particular attention.

Are you ready for the NEW Prepayment Medical Review program for Inpatient Hospital Claims?

On November 15, 2011, First Coast Service Options, Inc. (FCSO) issued notice that they will be performing prepayment medical reviews of inpatient hospital claims related to 15 diagnosis related groups (DRGs).

Path Lab Proposal Shot Down by OIG

The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services recently (October 11, 2011) shook its head at a proposal involving a pathology lab management services business that was to be owned by physicians.

State Appellate Court Allows Burdensome
Discovery Request

On August 10, 2011, the Fourth District Court of Appeals support one litigant's huge discovery request on the treating physician.

Supervisory Requirements for IDTFs

Here are some tips in complying with one of the key elements in obtaining and maintaining status as an IDTF and as a Medicare provider.

CMS Delivers Final ACO Rules

Proposed Rule versus Final Rule for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) In the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

The Government is No Friend to Investigated Physicians

Healthcare reform aside, physicians are increasingly buried under the weight of nonstop regulatory scrutiny and compliance requirements.

Medical Staffs and Conflicts of Interest

Medical staffs are increasingly frustrated with the financial relationships their medical executive committee (MEC) members have with the hospitals where they work.

Pain Management Regulations Affect More Than Pain Management Specialists

The recently passed House Bill 7095 affects more than just pain management specialists.

The Money is in the Management

Conversation regarding ACOs and even healthcare reform itself is misplaced. The well established facts are (1) more people will receive health care, and (2) the cost of healthcare will come down.

Are Recovery Audit Contractors Going to Put You
on the RAC?

Recovery Audit Contractors are here to stay and they are affecting the way medicine is practiced across the nation. If they have not already, they will influence your office and facility practice, and likely hit you in the pocket book.

Emtala Issues Continue to Confuse Physicians

EMTALA (the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) was passed by Congress in 1986. The purpose behind the law was to ease the burden of public or so called charity hospitals from having to treat indigent patients because other hospitals refused to treat such patients due to their inability to pay.

When It Comes to Telemedicine, State Governments Hold the Keys The Government Has

With all the talk and hoopla surrounding health care reform and new delivery systems in the form of the ACO model, the concept of telemedicine has been given little attention.

Florida Legislature Tightens Up on Pain Management Clinics Even More

The 2011 legislative session brought even tighter restrictions designed to shut down pill mills and controlled substance medication abuse.

11th Circuit Court Lends a Hand to Florida Tort Reform

A recent decision out of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will help Florida's tort reform efforts.

U.S. District Court Ruling Strengthens State Stark Law

Most readers know that the federal Stark Law deals primarily with matters involving physician self referral.

The New Face of Patient Communication

When done the old-fashioned way, tasks such as confirming appointments, delivering lab results, and calling in pharmacy refills, means hours of manual tracking and daily phone calls by office staff.

Haven't Thought Much About Compliance Lately? The Government Has

It is estimated that health care fraud is a $60 billion a year business fueled by illegal conduct such submitting false claims and paying kickbacks to physicians and suppliers.

Medicaid Third Party Billing

Did you know that when billing Medicaid on your behalf, your billing agent must comply with Florida law to protect your practice? That’s right.

A.C.O.s Are S.T.U.P.I.D.

We have probably never seen so much enthusiasm and spending on anything in our history as we are on healthcare reform.

M.D./D.C. ARRANGEMENTS SHARE LEGAL ISSUES NATIONWIDE

Chiropractors and medical doctors (or D.O.s) have had a long and somewhat complex relationship. Though they approach healthcare issues differently, there are many instances where they share care or even work together.

OIG Advisory Opinion Nicks the Heels of "Company Model" Arrangements

A "company model" arrangement is reasonably popular in surgery centers these days. The model entails a legal entity owned by both anesthesiologists and referring surgeons, which performs anesthesia.
View the Advisory Opinion 11-03

Anti Trust Concerns Greatly Affect Healthcare Reform

Anti-trust laws are one of the greatest obstacles to healthcare reform. Here's why? They limit the way competing physicians, hospitals and the like can do business together.

What to Consider When Buying a Practice

As physicians retire and the era of healthcare reform rocks physicians, opportunities to purchase practices will likely surge, and not just for entities that employ physicians, like hospitals.

Asset Protection for Florida Physician Practice Groups

One of the most troubling issues facing physicians is the constant threat of a malpractice claim. To address this threat, as a first step in a comprehensive plan, every physician practice group and each individual physician should obtain the appropriate level of medical malpractice liability insurance coverage.

Medical Practices Using Independent Contractors Beware

Though it is customary for many medical practices to pay its physicians as 1099 independent contractors (instead of W-2 employees), doing so can be very expensive because the IRS is expected to increase its investigations and enforcement actions in this area.

What To Charge When Medicare is a Secondary Payer

The advent of more entrepreneurial opportunities for physicians will cause them to wonder how to deal with Medicare patients when Medicare is the secondary payer. View The Department of Health and Human Services Memorandum.

Is It Time to Sell? (Part 2)

In our last article we discussed some steps to take in preparing to bring the potential sale of your medical practice to market... Here are some things you may want to consider when actively marketing and ultimately selling your practice.

Proposed ACO Regs Are Out

"Patient centeredness," "fragmentation" and "value based purchasing" are just a few of the terms that are peppered throughout the newly proposed regulations for accountable care organizations ("ACOs").

Health Care Reform: Incentives May Reshape Medicare

Corporate health attorneys like Jeff Cohen, of the Florida Health Care Law Firm in Delray Beach, said everyone in his industry is poring over the finer points of the rules. What has surprised him so far is the extent to which Medicare beneficiaries have a say in whether to stay in an Accountable Care Organization if their doctor joins one, and to decide whether their data will be used in the performance accounting.

Hospital TeamCare Announces Long-Term Fix for Healthcare Providers in America's Shifting Healthcare Market

Hospitals are frightened because their compensation will be based on all sorts of things. It'd be tied to readmission rates, payment of physicians, and it could change from fee-for-service, to risk-based compensation, such as capitation, said Jeff Cohen, Owner of Florida Healthcare Law Firm, in Delray Beach.

Federal Agencies Address Legal Issues Regarding Accountable Care Organizations

On March 31, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), proposed new rules under the Affordable Care Act to help doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers better coordinate care for Medicare patients through Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

Ignoring Primary Care: Obscuring the Obvious

Healthcare reform used to imply just regulatory change. As time marches on, it also implies market change. Most pundits agree that, whatever happens to the healthcare reform law, whether or not it is found to be unconstitutional, the healthcare business community is unleashed. Change is afoot!

Florida Physician Strikes Out in Challenging Hospital Reappointment Denial

In January, a Florida appellate court upheld the denial of a physician's request to halt a hospital's intention to deny reappointment to the medical staff.

OIG Crushes Proposed Sleep Study/Hospital Venture

The OIG weighed in on a request to give a green light to a proposed venture between a sleep testing provider and a hospital.

Florida Seeks Relief from Healthcare Reform Provision

We all know for instance ACOs are being proposed as the new healthcare delivery platform for the masses and that they are more an idea, an experiment, than they are a thing.

Let the Medicaid Good Times Roll…. Florida Legislature Likely to Expand Medicaid Managed Care Statewide

The Florida Legislature now is in session. Bills designed to convert the statewide Medicaid Program to a managed care model of health care delivery already have been filed in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Is it time to Sell? Some Things to Consider When Deciding to Sell Your Practice

According the Medical Group Management Association, less than 50% of medical practices are doctor owned. This is down from two thirds in 2005. There are numerous motivating factors behind this emerging trend.

ACOs: Now We're Just Being Silly

We all know for instance ACOs are being proposed as the new healthcare delivery platform for the masses and that they are more an idea, an experiment, than they are a thing.

Choice of Entities: Is a Florida LLC Still Protected from Creditors after the Olmstead Case?

Business owners, regardless of size, have reason to be concerned about their choice of entities in Florida following the decision rendered in Olmstead v. FTC in June 2010.

Florida Department of Health Pain Management Clinic Visits: What to Expect When the Inspectors Arrive at Your Door

Florida Department of Health inspectors are out and about visiting Pain Management Clinics, particularly in south Florida. Here is what you might expect when they come to call.

Start the Year Right by Becoming a Business

Physicians are scrambling in reaction to changes in the business of healthcare. Understandable!

Preparing for the Future

As this year winds down, and next year begins to wind up, medical practices should give some thought towards how the next twelve to thirty-six months will look for the practice.

Breaking Up May Be Hard To Do

You spend scores of hours and thousands of dollars paying lawyers and accounts to get the right deal. You merge your practice with another group and all is well during the "honeymoon" period.

Pain Clinic Regulation: a Pain for Honest Physicians

In an effort to control the widespread problem of ‘pill mills' in Florida, the Florida legislature amended laws regulating both Allopathic and Osteopathic pain management clinic practices.

Money on the Table for Physicians

Medicare's Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) can be "found money" for physicians who participate in the Initiative.

Doctors: The Sky is Not Falling

In the 90s, physicians were told "The sky is falling. You have to find a tree to stand under or you will be crushed."

CMS Issues Self Referral Disclosure Protocol

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its anticipated self referral disclosure protocol (SRDP) on September 23rd."

Ever Wanted to Know How Long Medicare Has to Recoup Medicare Overpayments?

Healthcare providers who participate in Medicare are sometimes surprised when the government later decides that an overpayment was made.

January Date Approaches Fast for PECOS Enrollment

Though CMS has delayed PECOS enrollment until January 3, 2011, that is no comfort to the providers who have registered whose Medicare payments will likely be disrupted due to the millions of providers who are expected not to meet the enrollment deadline.

HIPAA: It Ain't What it Used to Be

By now everyone in the healthcare industry knows the term "HIPAA," but not everyone knows that the new healthcare reform law has toughened it up in many respects.

Meaningful Use Regs Start the Hit Train Rolling

The long awaited "meaningful use" regulations are an important step in the process of weaving health information technology into the fabric of U.S. healthcare.

Medical Staffs and Conflicts of Interest

Medical staffs are increasingly frustrated with the financial relationships their medical executive committee (MEC) members have with the hospitals where they work.

Managed Care is Not Medicare

How many times have you heard from an insurance company "Oh no, we can't pay your claim because it is coded incorrectly according to Medicare."

Electronic Healthcare Record Incentives and Penalties Dog Physicians

The physician incentive payments/penalty provisions that piggybacked their way onto the federal healthcare reform law has physicians concerned and scrambling.

2010 Has Been a Huge Year for Physicians Already

Healthcare reform alone is enough of a Rubik's Cube, but CMS and the OIG has been especially well-staffed these days, enough so that their offices are turning out new laws and interpretations at an alarming rate.

News Release

Jeffrey L. Cohen Forms the Florida Healthcare Law Firm - A New Way of Providing Legal Services to Healthcare Clients

Jeffrey L. Cohen, a board certified healthcare attorney with over 20 years of healthcare law experience, has proudly announced the opening of The Florida Healthcare Law Firm, a firm designed to empower the local healthcare and business community through a new way of providing legal and educational services.

News Placements

South Florida Hospital News, April 2009, "Florida Court Frustrates Hospital's Attempt to Replace Radiology Group"

The second district court in Tampa is causing many hospitals and medical staffs to focus sharply on their contracts and medical staff bylaws, particularly as they relate to traditionally closed departments.

Palm Beach Post, August 2009 - "Moving Up" by Jeffrey L. Cohen"

With more than 20 years of health care law experience under his belt, Jeffrey L. Cohen decided it was time for a change. He left the firm he had worked with for 13 years to start his own, Florida Healthcare Law Firm and Maverick Medical Claims.