Legal & Regulatory Issues

CMS announced a final rule (pdf) on changes to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs, also known as Medicare Part C and Part D, effective Jan. 1, 2013.

Trinity Health Systems in Fort Dodge, Iowa, has agreed to pay $218,000 over an alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide interpretation services for a deaf patient, according to a DOJ news release.

Oak Brook Surgical Centre and insurance company Aetna are battling in court over $3.4 million in bills, according to a Crain's Chicago Business report.

A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a $45 million ruling against Tuomey Healthcare System in Sumter, S.C., over alleged violations of Stark Law.

The Office of Inspector General announced the appointment of Greg Demske as Chief Counsel to the Inspector General, effective today.

Physician Hospitals of America announced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston will hear an argument tomorrow against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's restriction on physician-owned hospitals.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued the results of a study (pdf) showing the time from submission of 510(k)s to final decision from FDA has "increased substantially in recent years."

An April 17 date has been set for an administrative law judge in Washington, D.C., to review the proposed Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare acquisition of Rockford (Ill.) Health System, according to a Rockford Register Star report.

The American Medical Association sent a letter to CMS expressing concern about regulations with overlapping timelines, including the value-based modifier, ICD-10, the electronic prescribing program and physician quality reporting system.

An ongoing shortage of sedatives like propofal and fentenyl are prolonging recovery times for New York patients, said Michael Simon, MD, president of the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists, in a WNYT report.