On November 15, 2016, as part of its 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule update, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services reissued its prohibition on certain unit-based rental arrangements with referring physicians, adopted updates to the list of CPT/HCPCS codes defining certain of the Stark Law’s designated health services and implemented a minor technical change to its instructions for submitting a request for an Stark advisory opinion. These revisions can be found at 81 Fed. Reg. 80170, 80524-36. Read the full article.
CMS Issues Final Rule Governing the Return of Overpayments within 60 Days
On February 11, 2016, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the much-anticipated final rule concerning Section 6402(a) of the Affordable Care Act, the so-called "60 Day Rule." This section requires Medicare and Medicaid providers, suppliers and managed care contractors to report and return an overpayment by the later of “60 days after the date upon which the overpayment was identified or the date any corresponding cost report was due, if applicable.” CMS delayed adopting the rule to address public comments concerning, among other things, (1) the meaning of "identify" (i.e., what starts the 60-day clock); and (2) the length of the “lookback period.” This rule is of critical importance to healthcare providers seeking to avoid liability for reverse false claims under the False Claims Act (FCA). Under the new regulation, 42 C.F.R. § 401.305, the 60-day clock starts when a provider has identified an overpayment, which is defined as “when the...
CMS Delays Implementation of the 60-Day Overpayment Final Rule
On February 13, 2015, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a one-year extension to its normal three-year deadline to finalize the proposed rule explaining the Affordable Care Act’s “60-Day Rule” – leaving providers and their counsel with the same unanswered questions on how to comply and manage potential False Claims Act (FCA) risk. When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, it amended the Social Security Act to add Section 1128J. This section requires Medicare and Medicaid providers, suppliers and managed care contractors to report and return an overpayment by the later of “60 days after the date upon which the overpayment was identified or the date any corresponding cost report was due, if applicable.” CMS published a proposed rule applying this provision to Medicare Part A and B overpayments on February 16, 2012. The proposed rule defines when an overpayment is “identified” as when the provider or supplier has “actual...