Health Law Documents  

2010

• February 2 - IRS, DOL, HHS interim final rules implementing mental health parity law (75 Fed. Reg. 5410).

• January 29 - GAO report Patient Safety Act: HHS Is in the Process of Implementing the Act, So Its Effectiveness Cannot Yet Be Evaluated (GAO-10-281).

• January 28 - HHS final rule on NPDB reporting requirements (75 Fed. Reg. 4656).

• January 26 - CMS notice approving three national accreditation organizations to participate in Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Supplier Accreditation Program (75 Fed. Reg. 4088).

• January 20 - OIG report, A Comparison Of Medicaid Federal Upper Limit Amounts To Acquisition Costs, Medicare Payment Amounts, And Retail Prices (OEI-03-08-00490).

• January 20 - OIG report, Outlier Average Manufacturer Prices In The Federal Upper Limit Program (OEI-03-07-00740).

• January 19 - GAO report, Medicare Advantage: CMS Assists Beneficiaries Affected by Inappropriate Marketing but Has Limited Data on Scope of Issue (GAO-10-36).

• January 19 - GAO report, Medicaid and CHIP: Enrollment, Benefits, Expenditures, and Other Characteristics of State Premium Assistance Programs (GAO-10-258R).

• January 13 - CMS proposed rule on HITECH Act incentive payments to eligible providers to adopt EHRs (75 Fed. Reg. 1844).

• January 13 - HHS interim final rule adopting initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria (75 Fed. Reg. 2014).

• January 13 - OIG fraud alert to DME suppliers about telemarkting prohibition.

• January 11 - GAO report, Corporate Crime: DOJ Has Taken Steps to Better Track Its Use of Deferred and Non-Prosecution Agreements, But Should Evaluate Effectiveness (GAO-10-110).

• January 11 - GAO report, Brand-Name Prescription Drug Pricing: Lack of Therapeutically Equivalent Drugs and Limited Competition May Contribute to Extraordinary Price Increases (GAO-10-201).

• January 5 - OIG report, Adverse Events in Hospitals: Public Disclosure of Information About Events (OEI-06-09-00360).

• December 30 - OIG report, Medicare Power Wheelchair Claims Frequently Did Not Meet Documentation Requirements (OEI-04-07-00401).

• December 28 - GAO report, Nursing Homes: Addressing the Factors Underlying Understatement of Serious Care Problems Requires Sustained CMS and State Commitment (GAO-10-70) and questionnaire.

• December 28 - GAO report, Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drugs: Second Quarter 2008 Federal Upper Limits for Reimbursement Compared with Average Retail Pharmacy Acquisition Costs (GAO-10-118R).

• December 28 - GAO report, Medicare Managed Care: Observations about Medicare Cost Plans (GAO-10-185).

• December 22 - GAO report, Ongoing Federal Oversight of Payments to Offset Uncompensated Hospital Care Costs Is Warranted (GAO-10-69).

• December 18 - Midyear Formulary Changes in Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (OEI-01-08-00540).

• December 9 - CMS final rule on Medicare claims appeal procedures  (74 Fed. Reg. 65296).

• December 9 - CMS final rule on Medicare Part D claims appeals (74 Fed. Reg. 65340).

• December 9 - GAO report, Drug Safety: FDA Has Begun Efforts to Enhance Postmarket Safety, but Additional Actions Are Needed (GAO-10-68).

• December 7 - GAO report, CMS Working to Address Problems from Round 1 of the Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program (GAO-10-27).

• December 7 - OIG report, Aberrant Medicare Home Health Outlier Payment Patterns in Miami-Dade County and other Geographic Areas in 2008 (OEI-04-08-00570).

• December 3 - OIG semiannual report, April 1, 2009 - September 30, 2009.

• November 30 - CMS final rule delaying the effective date of two Medicaid rules that would have given states more flexibility in designing Medicaid benefit packages (74 Fed. Reg. 62501).

• November 27 - Federal Matching Shares for Medicaid, SCHIP for October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011 (74 Fed. Reg. 62315).

• November 25 - Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule for CY 2010 (74 Fed. Reg. 61738).

• November 24 - GAO report, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Deficiencies in Contract Management Internal Control Are Pervasive (GAO-10-60).

• November 23 - CMS notice withdrawing proposed rule withdrew on definition of Medicaid “rehabilitative services” (74 Fed. Reg. 61096).

• November 20 - CMS final rule with comment period on the CY 2010 OPPS (74 Fed. Reg. 60316).

• November 2 - OIG report, Medicare Drug Integrity Contractors’ Identification of Potential Part D Fraud and Abuse (OEI-03-08-00420).

• November 2 - OIG report, Reassignment of Medicare Benefits (OEI-07-08-00180).

• October 30 - HHS interim final rule implementing increasing penalty amounts for violating HIPAA in accordance with HITECH Act (74 Fed. Reg. 56123). 

• October 26 - GAO report, New Drug Approval: FDA Needs to Enhance Its Oversight of Drugs Approved on the Basis of Surrogate Endpoints (GAO-09-866).

• October 26 - GAO report, Medicare: Per Capita Method Can Be Used to Profile Physicians and Provide Feedback on Resource Use (GAO-09-802).

• October 23 - OIG Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control annual report (HCFAC report).

• October 23 - OIG report, Adverse Event Reporting For Medical Devices (OEI-01-08-00110).

• October 22 - Beneficiary Appeals in Medicare Advantage (OEI-01-08-00280).

• October 22 - CMS proposed rule revising MA and Part D programs to clarify various participation requirements, specify changes to strengthen beneficiary protections, ensure plan offerings to beneficiaries include meaningful differences, improve plan payment rules and processes, and implement new policies (74 Fed. Reg. 54634).

• October 22 - GAO report, Oversight of Clinical Investigators: Action Needed to Improve Timeliness and Enhance Scope of FDA’s Debarment and Disqualification Processes for Medical Product Investigators (GAO-09-807).

• October 20 - OIG report, Medicare Part D Plan Sponsor Electronic Prescribing Initiatives (OEI-05-08-00322).

• October 14 - OIG report, Medicare Part D E-Prescribing Standards: Early Assessment Shows Partial Connectivity (OEI-05-08-00320).

• October 7 - OCR proposed rule modifying HIPAA privacy rule to implement Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (74 Fed. Reg. 51698).

• October 7 - IRS, DOL, HHS interim final rules with request for comments implementing Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (74 Fed. Reg. 51644).

• October 1 - FDA proposed rule on postmarketing safety reporting for combination products (74 Fed. Reg. 50744).

• October 1 - OIG FY 2010 Work Plan.

• September 30 - GAO report, Medicare Physician Services: Utilization Trends Indicate Sustained Beneficiary Access with High and Growing Levels of Service in Some Areas of the Nation (GAO-09-559).

• September 30 - GAO report, Nursing Homes: CMS’s Special Focus Facility Methodology Should Better Target the Most Poorly Performing Homes, Which Tended to Be Chain Affiliated and For-Profit (GAO-09-689).

• September 30 - GAO report, Medicaid: Fraud and Abuse Related to Controlled Substances Identified in Selected States (GAO-09-957).

• September 29 - CMS proposed rule for ESRD PPS (74 Fed. Reg. 49922).

• September 24 - OIG Advisory Opinion No. 09-16 , allowing proposed network between professional organization and referral service.

• September 23 - FDA proposed rule on current good manufacturing practice requirements for combination products (74 Fed. Reg. 48423).

• September 16 - CMS final rule limiting Medicare recoupments of provider and supplier overpayments (74 Fed. Reg. 47458).

• September 16 - CMS proposed rule on states' CHIP allotments for FY 2009 through 2013 (74 Fed. Reg. 47517).

• September 14 - GAO report, Medicaid Preventive Services: Concerted Efforts Needed To Ensure Beneficiaries Receive Services (GAO-09-578).

• September 8 - OIG report, Medicare Part D Reconciliation Payments for 2006 and 2007 (OEI-02-08-00460).

• September 8 - OIG reports, Medicare Hospice Care: Services Provided to Beneficiaries Residing in Nursing Facilities (OEI-02-06-00223) and Medicare Hospice Care for Beneficiaries in Nursing Facilities: Compliance With Medicare Coverage Requirements (OEI-02-06-00221).  

• September 3 - OIG Advisory Opinion No. 09-14 and Advisory Opinion No. 09-15 approving local governments' exclusive contracts for ambulance transport services.

• September 1 - OIG report, MSIS Data Usefulness for Detecting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (OEI-04-07-00240).

• August 31 - GAO report, Private Health Insurance: Research on Competition in the Insurance Industry (GAO-09-864R).

• August 31 - GAO report, Medicare Physician Payments: Fees Could Better Reflect Efficiencies Achieved When Services Are Provided Together (GAO-09-647).

• August 27 - CMS final rule and interim final rule on hospital IPPS for FY 2010 and changes to LTCH PPS for Rate Years 2010 and 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 43754).

• August 25 - FTC final rule on health breach notification (74 Fed. Reg. 42962).

• August 21 - GAO report, Health Insurance: Enrollment, Benefits, Funding, and other Characteristics of State High-Risk Health Insurance Pools (GAO-09-730R).

• August 18 - Advisory Opinion No. 09-13 (Dep’t of Health and Human Servs. Office of Inspector Gen. Aug. 11, 2009) (saying hospital may subsidies affiliated ambulance cooperative).

• August 14, 2009 - Advisory Opinion No. 09-12, (Dept. of Health and Human Servs. Office of Inspector Gen. Aug. 7, 2009) (allowing copayment subsidies for Medicare Part D enrollees).