In this webinar, board certified healthcare lawyer David Davidson will update healthcare providers on actions taken by the Biden administration. Tune in for changes and trends that healthcare providers should be aware of.
healthcare law
All posts tagged healthcare law
Supervision of Electrologists
by admin on February 22, 2021 No comments
By: Chase Howard
Changes are coming to the way Electrologists in Florida may be supervised when performing laser hair removal. For years, direct, on-site supervision by a physician was required in order to allow an electrologist to perform laser hair removal. Recently, the Board of Medicine and Electrolysis Council agreed to a rule change, altering the method of supervision to include telehealth.
read moreHealth Care Clinics Targeted For Medical Director Requirements
by admin on February 9, 2021 No comments
By: Zach Simpson
There have been a rise in cases recently, in which practices that operate under a Health Care Clinic License have been brought under scrutiny by insurance companies trying to recoup funds through any means possible. In an effort to claw back funds insurance companies are beginning to claim that medical directors are failing to meet their statutory obligations under Florida Law which in turn can have serious monetary repercussions. Due to the clinics allegedly failing to meet their statutory obligations the insurance companies are filing suit to recoup any payments made while violating the Health Care Clinic Act obligations, and to stall any future payments due until such cases are heard.
By law, a medical director must be a health care practitioner that holds an active and unencumbered Florida license as a medical physician, osteopathic physician, chiropractic physician, or podiatric physician. The type of services provided at a clinic may dictate who would be able to serve as a clinic’s medical director, because a medical director must be authorized under the law to supervise all services provided at the clinic.
read more2021 Pharmacy Enforcement Actions in Full Swing
by admin on February 5, 2021 No comments
By: The new year has brought with it no lull in pharmacy fraud crackdowns and enforcement actions, with allegations related to over one billion dollars in false claims.
Here’s a breakdown of the latest:
Mississippi Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison and $287,659,569 in Restitution
This individual spearheaded a scheme involving kickbacks to marketers and prescribers to defraud TRICARE and other healthcare programs by submitting claims for unnecessary compounded medications, which also involved routine waiver of patient financial responsibility.
read moreWebinar | COVID-19 Vaccination in Healthcare Businesses: What Your Office Needs to Know Now
by admin on January 20, 2021 No commentsHealthcare business owners everywhere should be planning for the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine and how they will navigate a sea of new challenges, from employer liability to mandatory policy development and implementation to managing accommodations. Join Florida Healthcare Law Firm attorneys Jeff Cohen, Karen Davila, and Dean Viskovich for this panel style presentation during which they will discuss the COVID-19 vaccination issues many organizations will need to strategically address in the weeks and months ahead.
How Autonomous Practice Is The Biggest Business Opportunity for 2021
by admin on January 6, 2021 No comments
By: Chase Howard
With the passage of autonomous practice ability for nurse practitioners in Florida this year, many are wondering how this will affect the healthcare industry in Florida. In a traditional sense, rural and underserved areas should have the opportunity for growth in healthcare providers. The autonomous practice law removes restrictions on certain nurse practitioners, granting them the ability to practice in primary care practice settings without worrying about supervision restrictions. Outside of that, the application of the new law can expand healthcare business offerings and abilities.
read moreRecap: Dental Employment Contracts
by admin on January 6, 2021 No comments
By: Chase Howard
Many young dental professionals are presented with the opportunity to join a practice after graduation. Making an informed decision and negotiating a fair contract can be difficult but will ultimately pay dividends for years to come. Here are some items to consider when reviewing and negotiating your employment contract.
read moreCompany Model Scrutiny For Physicians After Daitch Case
by admin on December 11, 2020 No comments
By: Jeff Cohen
A 2018 Department of Justice civil settlement involving a Florida interventional pain physician was a cliff hanger when it surfaced, especially vis a vis the issue of the so-called Company Model, where anesthesiologists and referring physicians jointly owned an anesthesia provider. The Daitch settlement involved interventional pain specialists who settled the case for $2.8 Million. There, the government claimed that a mass of urine drug tests weren’t reasonable or medically necessary. But the issue buried in the settlement call the issue of intertwined medical businesses and the Company Model into question.
The so-called Company Model involves the formation of a company that provides anesthesia services. It’s jointly owned by anesthesiologists and referring physicians. Theoretically, on a Monday, the anesthesiologists own the anesthesia practice and bill for all anesthesia services performed at a GI lab or ASC. On a Tuesday, however, the new company (jointly owned by the same anesthesiologists and the referring physicians) steps in and starts billing for the anesthesia services, thus indirectly sharing a part of the profits with the physicians who are generating the anesthesia referrals.
read moreWeave Compliance Into Your Practice For 2021
by admin on December 8, 2020 No comments
By: Jeff Cohen
A recent Department of Justice $500,000 settlement with a cardiology practice underscores the need for ensuring tighter compliance by medical practices. There, the practice billed Medicare for cardiology procedures for which interpretive reports were also required. Medicare paid for the procedures, but upon audit, CMS could not find the requisite interpretive reports. The False Claims Act case settled for $500,000, but it’s likely that (1) the reimbursement by Medicare was far less, and (b) the legal fees behind the settlement weren’t too far behind the settlement amount! Had the practice self-audited each year, would they have found the discrepancy?
Medical practices have felt the weight of price compression and regulatory load more than probably any segment in the healthcare sector. They are doing far more for far less. And regulations expand faster than viruses! Hence, many have a strategy of regulatory compliance that can best be characterized as a combination of facial compliance (“We bought the manual and put it on the shelf”) and hope (“They’re not really serious about this, are they?”). Unless you’re part of a practice of more than 20 doctors, it’s likely that you can do more to ensure regulatory compliance.
read moreHealthcare Marketing: Measure Twice, Cut Once
by admin on December 3, 2020 No comments
By: Jeff Cohen
Wanna know how often we’re asked whether the laws re healthcare marketing are really enforced? How often we hear “Everyone is doing it.” “Surely they [regulators] understand that every healthcare business has to market its services and item,” we’re told. And when we start to educate people re the state and federal laws that pertain to marketing healthcare items and services (INCLUDING those for which payment isn’t made by a state or federal healthcare program), their impatience and intolerance is palpable.
Take a look at the latest report from the Department of Justice guilty plea from someone who marketed the services of a genetic testing lab. He admitted being guilty of receiving over $300K in kickback money (presumably in the form of marketing fees) and now faces (1) a $250K fine, (2) returning all the money he received, and (3) five years in prison!
Marketing any healthcare service or item is at the tip of the sword in terms of regulatory investigation and enforcement. It’s that simple. And so when your lawyers drag you through laws like the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Florida Patient Brokering Act, the federal health insurance fraud law, the bona fide employee exception, the personal services arrangement and management contract safe harbor and EKRA, thank them! And expect nothing less. If you do ANYTHING at all in the neighborhood of marketing a healthcare item or services, the first place to start is: meet with a very experienced healthcare lawyer who is not learning on your dime. And have them take a couple hours to educate you about the laws, the options and the risks of each one. And once you’ve done that, ask them what more you can do to reduce your risk, for instance—
read moreHealth law is the federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence among providers, payers and vendors to the healthcare industry and its patient and delivery of health care services; all with an emphasis on operations, regulatory and transactional legal issues.
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